Chaos and Collectors
by SogekingSchofield503
Summary: The story of Commander Paul Shepard. Shepard followed the Paragon path through Mass Effect, romanced Liara, and triumphed over Sovereign. The commander is killed and the Normandy destroyed by the Collectors on a mission to the Omega Nebula. Follows the major plot events and some of the non-major ones of Mass Effect 2. Depending on responses and critiques, may continue into ME3.
1. Chapter 1: Cerberus, 2183

LOCATION REDACTED

The Illusive Man nodded as Miranda Lawson approached his seat and got straight down to business. "Miranda, your job has been to study Shepard for the past year. Tell me what you know, starting from the beginning."

Miranda recited the first items of what she knew from memory. "Commander Paul Shepard was born on the SSV Tsushima on July 6th, 2154, the son of Simon and Hannah Shepard, both in the Alliance Military. He spent the majority of his childhood life aboard starships, following his parents from assignment to assignment, and enlisted in the Alliance Naval Academy at the age of 18. He showed glimpses of biotic potential up to and during his time at the Alliance Naval Academy and proved to be quite resourceful as an officer candidate. He graduated from the Academy and was enrolled in the N7 Program soon afterwards. As usual, all N7 records are sealed, but one of our plants within N7 revealed that Shepard was impressive, even by their standards. Shepard was outfitted with L3 implants, and graduated the N7 Program as a 'Vanguard', a fast-striking soldier capable of utilizing close and mid-range biotic techniques on opponents. He also showed a great deal of proficiency with assault rifles and shotguns, but not sniper rifles."

"Useful skills, and ones you can appreciate, I'm sure." The Illusive Man said firmly. "Please, continue."

Miranda nodded. "In 2177, Shepard and his unit were assigned to the colony world of Akuze..." The Illusive Man's eyebrows rose worriedly. "...and was one of only two survivors of his unit..." Her voice trailed off.

"The other being Corporal Toombs, who is testifying in front of the Alliance Senate against Cerberus even as we speak." The Illusive Man finished. "Along with Doctor Wayne."

Miranda picked up, uncertain of how to voice this information at first. "After Akuze, Shepard was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and bounced about from assignment to assignment. Eventually, he was handpicked by Captain David Anderson of the Normandy and helped foil Saren's efforts on Eden Prime, earning a commendation for valor. He then reignited and more or less took over the Citadel Council's "investigation" of Saren Arterius, leading to Saren getting stripped of his Spectre status. After heading to Therum, he met Dr. Liara T'Soni, who helped him get on the right track towards finding Saren's ultimate objective, the Conduit. After missions to Virmire, Ilos, and Noveria, along with a foray into the Armstrong Nebula, Shepard was able to find the Conduit...but not after Saren had proceeded through it."

"Virmire was troubling. What do you know of Shepard's mission there?"

Now he was testing Miranda's memory. She nodded, "I know that Shepard had a very vocal confrontation with a Krogan mercenary under his command, Urdnot Wrex, and was nearly forced to kill him. Through sheer force of will, or through Wrex's loyalty to Shepard, Shepard got a Krogan, and a particularly hard-headed one at that, to understand why the installation on Virmire and the research Saren had conducted there had to be destroyed. Shepard, Wrex, and Chief Ashley Williams then cut a swathe of destruction through Saren's base, encountering a largely intact Prothean beacon deep inside. Williams was left behind to guard the nuclear device the STG used to destroy Saren's installation and died a hero's death when Shepard chose to rescue Lieutenant Alenko from the anti-aircraft tower."

The Illusive Man afforded her a very rare smile. "If you had been in Paul Shepard's position, who would you have chosen, Ms. Lawson?"

"Alenko." Miranda's response was almost instant. "He's a damn good biotic, and with the Reapers on the horizon, I feel Alenko's skills would be more valuable than yet another front-line soldier."

"There are no wrong answers, Ms. Lawson. What happened on Ilos and the Citadel?"

"Shepard became romantically involved with Dr. T'Soni, according to our source aboard the Normandy, and she accompanied the commander and Urdnot Wrex to Ilos. They cut through Saren's defenses on Ilos, as well as the geth and krogan forces on the Citadel, with hardly any difficulties. They followed Saren through the Conduit to the heart of the Citadel itself..."

"And the rest is history." The Illusive Man finished. "Curious thing, and certainly not something to be forgotten. Another question, Ms. Lawson, do you approve of Shepard's actions on the Citadel?"

"Of course I do." Miranda said after a moment. "Shepard did everything right, more than we could have hoped for. Saving the Citadel, even saving the Council...Humanity has the trust of the entire galaxy and the faith of the entire galactic community." She turned to the Illusive Man. "And still it's not enough."

"Our sacrifices may have earned the Council's gratitude, but Shepard remains by far our best hope."

"They're sending him to fight geth. GETH!" Miranda's last word was practically an outburst. "We both know they're not the real threat. The Reapers are still out there."

"And it's up to us to stop them." The Illusive Man stated as though that were a perfectly obvious fact.

"The Council will never trust Cerberus, and they'll never accept our help...even after everything humanity has accomplished. But Shepard? They'll follow him. He's a hero, a bloody icon. But he's just one man." Miranda said resignedly. "If we lose Shepard, humanity might well follow."

The Illusive Man rose to his feet and looked directly into Miranda's eyes. "Then see to it that we don't lose him. Is there any likelihood that Shepard will receive an offer from Cerberus, Ms. Lawson?"

"Unless you give him no other choice, he'll accept it...with gunfire. If you want Shepard to help this organization, you have to put him in a corner and make him realize how vulnerable he is. It's harsh, I know, but given his actions on Binthu and his reaction to the killing of Admiral Kahoku..."

"Harsh, but understandable. He's also got enough bad history with Cerberus after Akuze. We'll have to disavow our actions with either Kahoku or Akuze if we want Shepard to have any semblance of loyalty to Cerberus. We'll also need a crew..." The Illusive Man said. "But I'll handle that. You're dismissed, Miranda. Keep an eye on Shepard. These next few days promise to be very interesting."

As Miranda walked away from the conference room, she muttered. "On that, we can agree."


	2. Chapter 2: Normandy SR1, 2183

**One month after the devastating geth attack on the Citadel, the galactic community struggles to rebuild.**

**The Alliance fleet made a tremendous sacrifice to save the Citadel Council and earned humanity membership in their prestigious group. Now the Council is forced to respond to evidence that the Reapers - enormous machines that harvest all organic civilization every 50,000 years - have returned. To quell the rumors, the Council has sent Commander Shepard and the Normandy to wipe out the last pockets of geth resistance. Officially, they blame the geth and their leader, a rogue Spectre.**

**But for those who know the truth, the search for answers is just beginning...**

* * *

2183 – PROLOGUE: ALCHERA APPROACH, AMADA STAR SYSTEM, OMEGA NEBULA

**SSV Normandy SR-1, DECK 2**

Navigator Charles Pressly's voice went over the intercom of the SSV Normandy , waking Commander Paul Shepard, the commanding officer, from his slumber. "Attention, all hands. Stand by for down-transition from FTL in ten minutes. Repeat, ten minutes." Paul lay back in the chair of his office. He had dozed off looking at the last letter from his parents. His father, Lieutenant Simon Shepard, was about to retire from the Systems Alliance Navy after almost 30 years of service, something that Simon had been looking forward to for some time.

_Ever since Sovereign's attack on the Citadel, he's been looking forward to going home to Amaterasu and retiring. I don't blame him. _ Paul thought._ Maybe that's something Liara and I should do. Eventually. Whenever we stop the hordes of AI Dreadnoughts that are intent on wiping out all advanced life in the galaxy._ Paul shook his head at the magnitude of that statement. _Yeah, it only took five Alliance dreadnoughts, a dozen Alliance cruisers, seven turian battleships, and the Destiny Ascension to stop the Geth fleet and Sovereign. And that's not even mentioning the Turian task force that Sovereign toasted on the Citadel's doorstep. We can totally stop the Reapers with what we have now._

Paul tried to contain his sarcasm. He had inherited a daunting task the second he had been named the first Human Spectre: stopping a rogue Turian Spectre from unleashing the Reapers on the galaxy. _If Sovereign and the Reapers had charged through the Citadel as Sovereign had planned, I wouldn't have gotten that message from Mom and Dad this week. I'd be dead, or as good as dead. The Citadel fleet would have been destroyed, and the Asari, the Salarians, and the Turians would have followed it. And humanity would have followed them into the abyss._

It was a testament to Paul's prowess as a negotiator that he had been able to reason Saren, of all people, down. He remembered his last words to the former Spectre. "It's not over yet! You can still redeem yourself!" Saren had fired a single round through his skull, choosing one final moment where he was not dominated by Sovereign. And his death had prevented the Reapers charging through the Citadel in that instant. The chaos that had followed Saren's suicide also never left Paul's mind. Wrex had shot Saren's dead body through the head just to make certain the asshole was done...and then Sovereign had "possessed" Saren's upgraded corpse and proceeded to unleash utter chaos on Wrex, Paul, and Liara for the next five minutes. Finally enough shotgun blasts went into the damn husk and it stopped moving entirely before disintegrating.

He wasn't sure what happened next (no one was), but according to footage of the battle, Sovereign's kinetic barriers, which had repelled almost everything thrown at them through the entirety of the battle, collapsed. Three ships claimed to have fired the killing shots: the SSV Mount Washington, Turian Battleship Exactor, and SSV Normandy. Sovereign had exploded, debris was violently strewn across half the Citadel...

And Paul Shepard's life had nearly come to an end when one large fragment from Sovereign smashed into the Citadel Tower and had been pinned against a wall, shattering his arm in the process.

Paul was driven not to become like Saren. He had seen a pair of from Prothean beacons (albeit, one of them was massively damaged and almost useless) and both of them had pointed to the inevitability of what lay ahead: the Reapers were going to invade and they were going to try and annihilate all advanced organic life. The question was how that advanced organic life would respond. From Shepard's visions of beacons on Eden Prime and Virmire, as well as the Cipher he had received on Feros, he knew that the Prothean civilization, which had dominated the galaxy more than 50,000 years ago, had been defeated almost before firing a single shot. The Reapers had charged through the Citadel and wiped out or indoctrinated the Prothean leadership. Even worse, they had access to all the population and census data that the Protheans had accumulated. What had followed was a brutal, systematic extermination of the Protheans that lasted several hundred years.

Every time he thought of Vigil's words on Ilos, a chill settled in Paul Shepard's gut. "Our enemy had but a single goal; the extermination of all advanced organic life. Through the Citadel, the Reapers had access to all our records, maps, census data. Information is power and they knew everything about us. Their fleets roamed across every settled region of the galaxy. Some worlds were utterly destroyed. Others were conquered, their populations enslaved. These indoctrinated servants became sleeper agents under Reaper control. Taken in as refugees by other Protheans, they betrayed them to the machines."

_We stopped that from happening right off the bat this time, and we know the enemy is coming. We just don't know where or exactly when. We've got a fighting chance if things go perfectly...but when was the last time that happened? _Shepard thought.

Lieutenant Jeff "Joker" Moreau's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Standby for arrival in Amada System. ETA 30 seconds."

Paul sighed and got up from the chair. The Onyx 10 Armor he wore was itching, and he couldn't wait to get out of it. Thirty seconds was enough time to get to the sleeper pod bay and the area where he felt most comfortable during deceleration from FTL. He made his way from his office through the mess hall and arrived just as Pressly began counting down from 10. He braced himself against the console at the back of the sleeper bay as Pressly's count reached one. Paul Shepard felt a rather unpleasant shift in gravity as the Normandy's velocity dropped by a factor of 10, from FTL to sublight velocity. He activated the console and addressed Joker over the intercom, "Lieutenant Moreau, it feels like the artificial gravity faulted on us as we came out of FTL. That's three jumps in a row with a faulty grav unit. "

Joker's voice made it quite clear he understood what had happened, and also carried a bit of embarrassment, he prided himself on PREVENTING the Normandy from becoming a vomit comet. "Yes, commander, I'll compensate on the next jump if Adams, Garrus and Tali can't fix it before then."

"I hope they're able to repair whatever issues in the gravity grid exist well before then." Shepard muttered after he closed the intercom. Dr. Chakwas walked out of medbay and up to the stairs leading to the command deck. He wasn't sure why, but she likely had reports to deliver.

He thought of the absent Urdnot Wrex. The venerable Krogan battlemaster had taken his leave of the Normandy not long after the Battle of the Citadel. He hadn't said where he was going, but Shepard had a hunch that Wrex was heading back to his homeworld, Tuchanka. _Perhaps all those conversations we had when he was aboard the ship inspired him to return to the krogan. With the destruction of Saren's cure, and the fact that he fought the geth and Saren's krogan on the Citadel, he might have leverage to get things done. _Whatever Wrex was up to, Paul wished him well.

For now, it was time to concentrate on this assignment. Geth ships had been sighted in the Amada System, and three merchant freighters had gone missing in the past month. There was something in the back of Shepard's mind that insisted that this was a strange set of circumstances, but he ignored it for the moment. He would go over the mission briefs from Hackett and then head up to the bridge.

* * *

**SSV Normandy SR-1, Command Deck**

"Disengaging FTL drives. Emission sinks are active. Board is green, we are running silent." Jeff Moreau ran through the system checks. "Gravity grid got thrown off, again, though..."

"We're wasting our time." Navigator Pressly said dismissively. "Four days searching this sector and we haven't found any sign of geth activity."

"Three ships went missing here in the past month." Joker observed. "Something happened to them."

Pressly's voice somehow took on even greater disdain. The Amada System, in the Omega Nebula, was practically smack in the middle of the Terminus Systems. "My money's on slavers. The Terminus Systems are crawling with them."

Ensign Talitha Draven, manning the science station on the bridge, reported, "I'm picking something up on the long-range scanners, sir. Unidentified vessel...looks like a heavy cruiser."

Joker felt a twinge of alarm run through his legs. _Great, never fails. Got that feeling before Feros and the Citadel, too._ "Ensign, that reading doesn't match any known signatures."

"Cruiser is changing course...now on intercept trajectory." Ensign Draven's voice was still somewhat calm.

Pressly shook his head. "Can't be. The stealth systems are engaged; there's no way a geth ship could possibly-"

Joker cut him off as he came to a terrible realization. "That's because it's not the geth." He activated the intercom and shouted, "All hands, brace for evasive maneuvers!" He threw the Normandy into a bank, but the unidentified ship opened fire just as he began the combat turn. A bright yellow beam lanced out from the vessel's hull and chased the Normandy. Joker attempted to cut back against his maneuver as the beam tracked the Normandy's position...

And an explosion later, he realized his mistake. Lieutenant Pressly yelled in anguish as the command deck took a direct hit, a console blowing out in the process. Pressly hit the deck, bleeding profusely. Joker couldn't turn his head to see how badly he was wounded, as he was trying his damnedest to save the Normandy. Ensign Draven called out, "Pressly!" only to join her crewmate on the deck with a cry of fear as the Normandy suffered another direct hit. Joker was sweating; the first two shots had almost ripped Normandy's "nose" off. He was one hull breach away from death. Moreau heard the crackling blaze of a runaway electrical fire, likely from the destroyed consoles.

"Kinetic barriers down!" Joker reported over intercom. "We've got multiple hull breaches and weapons are offline! Someone, get that fire out!" His controls began to respond more and more sluggishly as the Normandy began to-

He cut that thought off. No, he was **not** losing the Normandy. Not today. Not ever.

* * *

**SSV Normandy SR-1, Deck 2**

Liara T'Soni made her way through the wreckage, her breather helmet in her hand as she ran back to the sleeper pod bay. Explosions, fire, and death ran wild around her, but she pressed on at a quick run. She caught sight of Paul's dark hair just as he put his helmet on. "Shepard!" She called out.

Paul Shepard responded coolly, "Distress beacon is ready for launch and SOS is away."

"Will the Alliance will get here in time?" Liara asked plaintively.

Shepard looked back at the console just as another direct hit rocked the Normandy. Liara felt the pressure wave of the blast as it threw her into one of the sleeper pods. She cried out in pain from the impact.

Shepard's response was angry. "I'm not doing this just so they can find our frozen corpses floating in the void! Get everyone to the escape pods!"

Liara realized something as the Normandy turned agonizingly. "Joker must still be in the cockpit. He won't abandon ship...and I'm not leaving, either." She looked Shepard straight in the eyes, locking his gaze through the faceplate for a moment.

Shepard's body posture changed dramatically as Liara spoke. He stepped through the miasma of smoke and flame to her and held her arm tightly. "Liara, I need you to get every surviving crewmember off this ship. I'll get Joker off this ship in one piece." He looked back to the console, readying the distress beacon.

"Shepard?" Liara asked.

For a moment, Paul took off the helmet so he could look Liara in the eyes. "Liara, go. Now. Get off this ship and save yourself." The helmet came back on. Liara felt something try to well within her eyes, tears, maybe, but she blinked them furiously as Shepard readied the distress beacon. Every single personal log that the crew of the Normandy had made since the Battle of the Citadel would survive...if nothing else would.

Liara T'Soni made the most difficult decision of her 106 years. She did as Paul Shepard, the man she loved, had ordered her to. She ran to the escape pods and called out over the chaotic mayhem of a starship's death throes, "Everybody in! Go, go, GO!" Lieutenant Alenko, Engineer Adams, and Doctor Chakwas, one after another, made their way into the pod and strapped themselves into the seats of the shuttle Liara had indicated. A young human woman with short blonde hair ran towards the pod and was literally two steps away from Liara's position inside the pod. In that instant, an explosion swept the servicewoman up and threw her almost fifteen meters. Her scream of anguish was cut off as her body hit the floor. Liara looked back at the seats in the escape pod and decided to take her place. No one else made it to her pod in the next few seconds, and Kaidan's urgent tug at her arm was the only thing that reminded Liara of what she had to do.

Reluctant to leave any survivors behind (least of all, the man she loved), but knowing that she had to protect the few that were with her, Liara T'Soni pressed the eject button on the escape pod, and moments later, the small sphere hurtled from its berth and into high orbit over Alchera.

* * *

Paul Shepard activated the distress beacon as a colossal boom reverberated through the ship. _The Normandy's dying._ He thought to himself. _And I've got to get my butt in gear if I don't want to join it._ Smoke was already filling the corridors of the ship, and fires began to rage from seemingly all directions. Paul used one hand to shield his faceplate from getting soot-clogged as he made his way to the forward stairwells and the command deck. He could hear Joker's voice through the speakers in his suit. "Mayday, mayday, mayday! This is_ SSV Normandy_!" Another explosion rocked the dying frigate as Paul made it to the left stairwell; the right one looked as though it had been ripped away from the ship entirely. _Given the damage this ship has taken, that is not out of the realm of possibility._ "We've suffered heavy damage from an unknown enemy!" Joker cried out as Shepard stumbled up the darkened stairs. "Come on baby, hold together! Hold together!"

The cacophony of the dying starship was lost as Paul made it to the door. It slid apart to reveal the Normandy's galaxy map and the command deck...only the command deck had been opened to the vacuum of space. _Guess it was a good call to get this damn suit on._ Shepard thought. _Now I have to trust in the magboots...and keep from looking up._ He took careful step after careful step, hearing only the sound of his own breathing and a faint muffling as his boots contacted the deck. His heartbeat sounded unusually loud in his ears, but in the absence of other sounds, it was...entirely natural.

Step after step, Commander Paul Shepard painstakingly made his way forward and through the mass effect bubble that was all that protected Joker from the unforgiving vacuum. As soon as he was inside, he grabbed Joker's shoulder. "Come on, Joker! We have to get out of here!"

"No! I won't abandon the Normandy! I can still save her!" Joker insisted plaintively.

Shepard shook his head in frustration. "The Normandy's lost, Joker! Going down with the ship won't change that."

Joker's head sank back in defeat as he absorbed the impact and the truth of Shepard's words. "Yeah, okay... You're right. Help me up." As Shepard did so, one of the remaining operational consoles practically screeched with alarm. "They're coming around for another attack!" Joker yelled.

Paul Shepard looked behind at the remaining parts of his command and swore as yet another yellow burst of lethal energy slammed into the dying Normandy, breaking the proud ship's spine. A colossal detonation from deep below indicated a complete loss of hull integrity, and he fumbled to help Joker out of the pilot's chair. Joker yelled out, "AH! Watch the arm!" Shepard made no apologies and practically carried Joker to the final escape pod...just as their attackers decided to finish Normandy off once and for all. The mass effect bubble that had protected Joker faded just as Shepard threw Joker into the escape pod. The gravity that the field had maintained was gone, and he now drifted helplessly above the deck. Before Alchera's gravity field could catch him, Shepard had a few moments to try and extend for the pod launch button. If he failed, Joker would die.

His penultimate thought to preserve the last surviving member of his crew still aboard, Shepard made an insane effort, using a brief boost from his biotics to reach the button. Sir Isaac Newton then caught up with him. _For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction...oh shit._ He went hurtling the other way from the console, but he saw it blink several times. Paul saw Joker's face, and while he couldn't hear him, he saw his lips form a desperate yell of "SHEPARD!". His momentum threw Paul backwards into the Normandy's disintegrating corridors. The burst from the escape pod's engines sealed Paul Shepard's fate, sending him hurtling even further, past consoles and almost into the shreds of the galaxy map. The Normandy, already dying, finally came apart at the seams as Joker's escape pod raced away into the void above Alchera.

His eyes dazzled by the spectacular explosion of the Normandy's main drive core, Shepard didn't, couldn't make out where he was. There was a cool breeze on his shoulderblades and chest, which he couldn't explain until his horrified mind wrapped its way around his predicament. Shepard's eyes widened as he attempted to cover the breaches in his hands, but he couldn't quite reach back to his shoulderblades. His breathing grew quick, constricted; his oxygen bled into the vacuum through the breaches his armor had taken in his wild ride from the Normandy's command deck.

By the time he reached Alchera's outer atmosphere and his body began to burn up, Paul Shepard's brain was effectively off, thanks to oxygen deprivation. By the time his body (and the flaming remains of what had once been the SSV Normandy) reached the frozen surface of Alchera, Paul Shepard was mercifully dead.

**MASS EFFECT 2**


	3. Chapter 3: Lazarus Station, Part 1, 2185

PART TWO – AWAKENING  
July 2nd, 2185 - LOCATION REDACTED

"Commander Shepard has been recovered. The Lazarus Project will proceed as planned." Miranda Lawson, director of Cerberus's Lazarus cell, stated into the video camera. Over the next two years, Shepard's battered, broken body was pieced back together, infused with incredibly advanced tech, and Miranda oversaw it all. She had argued with the Illusive Man to put a control chip in Shepard's mind and had been refused outright.

"As sound a suggestion as that might be, Ms. Lawson, control chips are rather problematic. Any number of outside stimuli could cause us to lose control of Shepard, and if that happens, then what is all this work for?"

It didn't make her particularly happy to deal with this many black boxes on a project. As it was, they were dealing with unknown territory in ethical, biological, and technological terms. To the best of Cerberus's available intelligence, nobody had tried to completely rebuild a biotic before. If the asari, the turians, or the salarans had tried, they were certainly rather secretive about things had turned out.

Paul Shepard's L3 implants had been replaced and updated to L5's. The L3's had vastly increased Shepard's speed and reinforced damage protection while he charged an opponent on foot. The L5 series implants would allow Shepard to race over the battlefield and slam into an enemy with debilitating force, resulting in the enemy going flying backwards. Instead of merely lifting opponents off their feet, Shepard would be able to drag them into the air towards his position, leaving them vulnerable and giving him to option to disrupt the "Pull" effect with a biotic charge or a "Shockwave" that would blast the pull effect apart in all directions. Effectively, if Pull got an opponent off their feet but still close to the ground, Shepard could create a shaped biotic explosion that would devastate any nearby enemies. The "Shockwave" ability would allow him to soften opponents up while he raced in for close combat as well.

Thanks to the efforts of Shepard's crew against Saren in 2183 (as well as literally dozens of asari and turian biotics who died trying to defend the Citadel) biotic combat had seen an enormous number of evolutions made in a short period of time as every faction and their grandmother attempted to adjust. Shepard _**had**_ ravaged every kind of mercenary imaginable after becoming a Spectre, ranging from the Syndicate's hired goons to some of Cerberus's best troopers... Miranda bit her lip. Everything she knew about Paul Shepard indicated that he hadn't taken a blind jump at Cerberus; he knew damn well what the organization was capable of when a Cerberus cell kidnapped and murdered Admiral Kahoku. It was unfortunate that the cell hadn't even gotten rid of his body by the time Shepard found him, and Cerberus's PR companies hadn't been able to spin the situation as a natural death. Shepard had ruined that as well, and had called Cerberus out for "a shocking, cowardly, and treasonous crime."

_If this assignment works out right_, Miranda mused, _I will be Shepard's second in command...and if I want him to respect me, I need to put as much distance between my cell and the rogue cell Shepard blew up for killing Kahoku. I'll deal with that when it comes up. Right now, I need to make Shepard able to start right where he left off: the end of the Saren hunt. As far as combat goes, Shepard is used to fighting at close range with a variety of specialized ammunition types. From what our plants aboard the old Normandy indicated, they used Anti-Personnel, Radioactive, Incendiary, Cryo, Armor-Piercing, and Phasic Rounds. That was two years ago. Tech has moved on: shredder rounds are highly illegal within most of Council Space, and Polonium rounds have been banned altogether. If he's going to have a fighting chance, he needs one, possibly four of the remaining "legal" ammunition types, and they aren't being sold. If we were to add an omni-tool modification that made it possible for him to equip his weapons with incendiary or cryo ammunition on the spot..._ She wrote that part down. _Som__e Cerberus personnel already use those and swear by them. Jacob Taylor has one that allows him to equip incendiary ammunition at a moment's notice. So the tech already exists, we just have to equip it._

"Progress is slow, but the test subject shows signs of recovery. All major organs are fully functional, and there are signs of rudimentary neurological activity." She made a mention of the special tech that Wilson had suggested. "In an effort to accelerate the process, we've moved from organic reconstruction of the progress to bio-synthetic fusion. The initial results show promise." _A hell of a lot of promise, at that. _

_ The Illusive Man asked me to bring Shepard back exactly as he was when he defeated Sovereign. I can do that...and a bit more._ Miranda thought savagely as she submitted that report. _No control chip necessary._

* * *

**July 22nd, 2185**

Coolness. Cold. He could see light fixtures above, harsh fluorescents at that. Why couldn't he make anything out? He tried to breathe, but found the air was so crisp it seared his lungs.

"There, on the monitors. Something's wrong." The voice of a woman intoned solemnly.

A deep male voice answered the woman. "He's showing reactions to outside stimuli...showing an awareness of his surroundings!" Shepard's breaths increased as he tried to fully wake up. "My God, Miranda..."

The woman (who Paul guessed was Miranda) came into his field of vision. Her dark hair trailed over her shoulders and contrasted with pale skin. "Damn it, Wilson, he's not ready yet! Give him the sedative!" She moved closer to Shepard and held his hand back as he attempted to rise. "Shepard, don't try to move. Just lie still, try to stay calm."

_Easy for you to say, lady._ Shepard wanted to respond. _You didn't just get thrown out of your command and space- oh crap._ It was like the old cartoons of Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner from Earth; he had run off the cliff and looked down. He had THOUGHT about his situation, and now he was panicking just as Coyote did as he fell to earth. _What the hell is going on here? Who are these people?! How did I get here? Why am I in a med-bay?_

"Heart rate is still climbing, his brain activity is off the charts!" Wilson, whoever that was, replied. "Stats are pushing into the red zone; the sedative isn't working!" Miranda left Shepard's side and ran to a console.

She turned back towards Wilson and Shepard and ordered, "Another dose, NOW!" Miranda's voice made it clear there would be no argument. There was a hissing noise, and then Shepard's world began to go dark once again.

"Heart rate dropping...the stats are falling back into normal range." Wilson reported. "That was too close, we almost lost him."

"I told you your estimates were off. Run the numbers again. Do not screw up like last time."

The last thing he saw before lapsing back into unconsciousness was Miranda's face. She definitely looked concerned..._but why?_ The last conscious thought Shepard had was of how impossibly blue those eyes of Miranda's had been...almost like Liara's...

_Liara..._

For the first time in two years, Commander Paul Shepard was able to rest.

* * *

Paul's dreams were interrupted by the voice of a woman. "Wake up, Commander!" Shepard finally made out the woman's voice, realizing it was the same dark-haired woman who had ordered him sedated the other day. Of course, given that his entire body seemed numb and sore, she was probably doing him a favor at the time. Her voice was audible, but only just, amid a bunch of other sounds. Gunfire was faint but still ringing out in the decks above and below him, and he heard the roar of a chemical fire as well. "Your scars aren't healed, but I need you to get moving. This facility is under attack." He grabbed at his jaw, feeling an unusually slow but unmistakable response. He was very much alive. As he rose to his feet, he clutched at his side. It felt like he had been ripped apart and stitched together a bunch of times...and it hadn't been gentle at all. His eyes were adjusting to the light as Miranda ordered, "There's a pistol and a set of armor in the locker on the other side of the room. Grab them and get them on, hurry!"

Shepard did as Miranda had commanded for the moment. _Hasn't she earned the benefit of the doubt? I have no idea who she is just yet, but I'm going to find out. Fast._ The armor came together very quickly; it was similar to the Onyx I Armor produced by Aldrin Labs but was much, much firmer and more solid. _This should be able to take more of a beating than most of Onyx's work._ He thought. He picked up the clean ceramic pistol, which had an "M-5" on the side. _This pistol seems really weird, though, no kinetic coil, no combat scanner...what the hell is that, an ammo counter?_

"The pistol seems really different." Shepard stated to nobody in particular. "Seems like it's out of ammo."

"It's been a while, tech has advanced. Thermal clips replaced the standard munitions blocks- DAMN IT!" Miranda's statement was cut off by a curse. "Those canisters by the door are going to blow, take cover!" Shepard immediately found a glass casing to duck behind. The canisters hissed and finally blew outwards, sending metal and debris flying in all directions. Shepard whistled as he looked at where he had taken cover. _Now I find out it was shatterproof glass. Perfect._

"Where can I find ammunition? Do I have to shave it off a block myself?" Shepard asked, his voice caustic.

Miranda's response indicated that his sarcasm had gone completely over her head. "There's no need for a whole ammo block, but you won't find one in there; that's a medbay, not an armory."

Shepard paused for a moment. "What happened to the old style of weapons?"

"After the Citadel attack, some genius noticed geth weapons were better at bleeding heat than most standard weapons. Overheating was a colossal pain in the-" Miranda's voice was cut off by static momentarily. "Sorry about that. Thermal clips allow you to fire a set number of shots before overheating. You need to put in a new clip to keep up a sustained rate of fire."

"Seems awfully inefficient." Shepard said disgustedly. "What's next for me, Miranda?"

Another burst of static, then her reply came through. "Someone is hacking the base's security and they're trying to kill you. If you can find a thermal clip, that pistol will work just fine. Look for a thermal clip."

Paul found a thermal clip after a moment next to a dead security officer. He remembered when he had been chasing Saren that the heat level of his current weapon was located in the heads up display of his helmet, or the visual interface of his armor. He picked up the thermal clip, attempted to load it into the M-5 pistol, and suddenly the visual interface of his armor displayed the proper way to load the clip. "Thank you, Miranda." He said firmly over intercom. A nice little "36" displayed as he armed the pistol, and as it registered the clip, the number dialed from 36 to 30, the 6 drifting over to the left side of the miniature gun display.

"No problem, Shepard." Miranda responded. "I know this is a lot to adjust to, but combat has changed a lot since you were gone."

"A weapon's a weapon, and if it works, I'll find a way to shoot it." Shepard said calmly. "Which way do I go now?"

"That door will lead into an observation area. I'll work on unlocking it for you... There. That should take care of the lock." Shepard proceeded through. "It looks like they set up a barricade to try holding the mechs off. Think you can vault over it?"

Shepard crouched next to and then threw his legs over the barricade. His upper body adjusted easily. _It's like the Citadel all over again...except no angry Krogan battlemasters and no geth troopers._ Miranda suddenly yelled, "Look out!" Paul saw what had provoked the alarmed reaction: a security mech of some sort holding a semi-automatic pistol. Paul readied his own pistol. _Damn, it would be great to have some Tungsten rounds now._ "Shepard, you can equip incendiary ammunition any time you'd like." Miranda spoke quicker than usual. "Just equip it using your omni-tool. It'll take care of itself from there." He noticed a blinking red light on the left arm of his suit. _I never had much use for omni-tools, Garrus, Tali and Kaidan were the tech experts. What did Kaidan used to do with his?_ Shepard activated the omni-tool and stabbed at the red button on his before when he'd equipped Incendiary Rounds to the Kovalyov or HMWA and been forced to load a specialized cartridge, the omni-tool equipped the necessary mode immediately. He remembered the lights on those guns changing as he equipped a different ammunition type. This time, two red prongs extended on either side of the pistol and a red indicator gleamed above the sighting.

The mech seemed to notice and stated in a mechanical voice, "Warning, system not designed for specialized ammunition."

_I hope that's a good thing. _Shepard, trusting that this pistol was fundamentally similar to the ones he had used earlier in his career, opened fire on the security mech. Paul's first shot struck the mech in the left leg, and the protecting armor practically bled away from the impact. The pistol wasn't automatic, though, and he only snapped off another shot before the mech opened fire. Several three-round bursts of gunfire hit the container and the wall behind Shepard. Paul suddenly sprang up and emptied his current magazine into the mech. The mech's left "shoulder" plating evaporated under duress and Paul sighted his last shot to hit the mech in the head. One small explosion later, the mech was down and out. Paul Shepard jumped over the container he had used as cover and headed up the ramp, picking up a partially used thermal clip that the mech had dropped.

As he entered a larger room with more shatterproof glass, Miranda chimed back in over intercom. "Shepard, there are multiple security mechs closing on your position. Take cover." Shepard complied, and Miranda added, "Don't take any chances, Shepard, stay in cover while you take out those mechs."

Paul nodded, although he had to wonder whether Miranda was seeing that gesture. He took a quick glance over his cover to see two doors opening, one immediately ahead of the cover he had chosen and another to the left. More armored security mechs were closing in; two from the front and three from the left door.

A few moments later, all five security mechs were destroyed and Paul Shepard was able to advance down the hall. He did so cautiously, his pistol at the ready. _Those damn security mechs are almost as annoying as geth shock troopers. They just keep advancing until you blow them up._

"Nice work, Shepard, the coast is clear." He reloaded the pistol, noticing that he only had a shot or so left. The hall the mechs had used had a window separating two parallel corridors. He made out a huge mech charging a pair of unarmored Cerberus personnel. As Shepard drew closer, the mech mowed both of them down with a withering hail of machine gun fire. Blood from the dead personnel spattered against the window."Don't waste time, I can't keep these mechs distracted for long." Miranda said insistently.

Shepard turned from the dead Cerberus personnel to see another dead scientist. The man lay in his own blood in front of a door. One of them had a pistol similar to what the security mechs had been using, and he scanned it with his omni-tool. "An M-4 Shuriken machine pistol..." He reflected as the omni-tool processed the weapon and gave Shepard an analysis. "I'll hold onto this." The M-4 Shuriken folded up into a convenient, easy to stow package and Shepard tucked it into the armor. The double doors by the dead scientist slid apart as Shepard queued them open.

Miranda's voice alerted him, "There are more reinforcements headed your way, Shepard. Grab that grenade launcher off the dead security officer's body." Shepard couldn't get the M-5 to fold up, but he equipped the safety anyway and slid it into position next to the M-4. He then bent down, hefted the grenade launcher and readied it.

"I've got three shots left."

Miranda informed him tersely. "Here come the mechs! You might get them all with one shot." The doors slid apart to reveal five mechs identical to the ones he had destroyed earlier. Shepard immediately fired the grenade launcher just as the mechs opened fire.

The grenade detonated on contact, scattering mech parts through the hallway below and damaging a gas tank, which began bleeding flaming vapor into the hall. _I do not look forward to running through a BLEVE, but if my shields re-charge..._

They did, faster than they ever had on his old armor. "Take the elevator down one floor, Shepard." Miranda instructed. The omni-tool beeped and indicated which way Shepard had to go. He ran there, and just as both his feet contact the platform, the elevator descended. "Hurry, you can get through before the tank blows! Run!" Miranda urged Paul onwards.

_I'm like a rat in a maze, and she's giving me mad scientist vibes right now. Nice encouraging feelings to have, right?_ Shepard thought bitterly as he moved through the blaze. Incredibly, his kinetic shields shrugged off the searing heat and prevented him from burn damage.

"You're doing fine...Shepard, I'll...meet you at the next..." Miranda's voice became interlaced with static.

"Miranda?" Shepard asked. "What's going on?"

"Shepard, do you read-" Miranda answered, "I've got sec...mechs closing...posit-" Her voice cut out entirely. _Now I'm flying blind...or maybe not._ His omni-tool again indicated which way to go. In the corridor he had just left, a colossal boom echoed throughout the facility as the breached tank exploded.

The station was very much like a maze; after entering another hall, he could see through windows to his left and multiple consoles. Two downed mechs were crawling their way towards a set of consoles... _Are they trying to cover their tracks? That's not going to work. _Shepard opened the door and fired two shots per mech. One exploded, the other lay helplessly on the ground, a flaming ammunition round burning into its "head". There was a safe on the wall, and Shepard's omni-tool beeped as though it could crack it. _Tech was never my specialty...here goes..._

To his annoyance, there were ten security pins that he had to line up in order to bypass the lock on the safe. The omni-tool made that far, far easier, but it made Shepard wonder just how much things had changed in the time he'd been under. The safe's top slid open to reveal a credit chit...with 950 credits worth on it. _Depending on how long I've been out, the Citadel might have frozen all my assets._ A laptop caught his interest to the right, and he used his omni-tool to request access to the most recent entry.

"Log update: the cost of this project is astronomical – over four billion credits so far, but nobody seems to care that we've gone over budget. I don't know where the boss gets all his money, and maybe it's better not to know. I just wish he'd kick a little more in my direction once in a while." The voice sounded awfully familiar...Wilson? The medtech who had been there with Miranda the first time Shepard regained consciousness? That was possible. More than possible. _Gotta love what basic human greed can do to people._ Shepard thought. _Wilson might have a good thing here, but money got to his head and made him stupid._

Shepard left the room and continued up a flight of stairs at the end of the hallway. As he made his way to the top of the stairs, he caught a glimpse of another tech. There was a glass screen between them, and the man seemed to recognize him. He called out, "Shepard!" Suddenly, another one of the hulking mechs appeared and opened up with a burst of machine gun fire. "No! Help me!" Shepard turned away as the mech fired a rocket, killing the poor sap on the spot. The glass between them held, incredibly, but blood spattered all over the place. Shepard proceeded through the door to his right. There was an officer of some sort using a pistol with more specialized ammunition, and he was firing on a group of mechs on a distant catwalk.

"Shepard, what are you doing here?!" The individual, wearing a hardened version of the clothing Shepard had seen around the base, recognized him on sight. Paul ducked down next to him. "I thought you were still a work in progress."

"Are you with Miranda?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah, sorry. I forgot this is all new to you right now. I'm Jacob Taylor, I've been stationed here for-" He was cut off as a mech opened fire with its M-4 Shuriken, nearly hitting Taylor in the head. "Damn it!" Jacob retaliated by snapping off a quick burst from his M-5 pistol, nailing the mech in the head and causing it to blow up. "Things must be worse than I thought if Miranda's got you running around. I'd fill you in, but we have to get to the shuttle first.

"What's with the mechs?" Shepard asked.

Jacob grunted. "Security. Usually they work for us, but someone must have hacked them. That should be impossible..." His voice trailed off. "We've got to get you out of here, Shepard."

Shepard decided to give the lead to Jacob. "It's your station, Jacob. I'll follow your lead."

Jacob nodded. "First step: let's finish off these metal bastards. We're low on thermal clips, but I'm a biotic. Just let me know when you want to hit them with the good stuff."

_A fellow biotic, not bad. _"Let's give them hell." Shepard said with a hard grin on his face.

Some more well-placed shots and a trio of messy explosions later, all of the mechs on the opposite catwalk had been destroyed. Jacob asked, "Ready to get the hell off this station?"

Shepard shook his head. "Before we go any further, I need some answers."

Jacob nodded. "All right. What do you want to know?"

"How long have I been under?" Shepard asked. "Technology and biotics seem to be quite...different...than what I remember."

"Two years." Jacob responded flatly.

_Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Two years? _"They spent two years rebuilding me? How bad were my injuries?" Shepard's voice was filled with a calm he didn't feel in the slightest.

"I'm no doctor, but it was bad." Jacob said somberly. "When I first saw you, you were nothing but meat and tubes. In any other situation, they'd have put you in a coffin. Project Lazarus was entirely different."

"What do you mean? Cloning? Cybernetics?" Shepard only got more and more suspicious.

Jacob shook his head. "I don't know the details, you'd have to ask the scientists. I'm pretty sure you're not a clone, they wanted to bring you back exactly as you were. You're still who you were then...you just have a few more bits and pieces now."

Shepard asked another question. "The last thing I remember is the Normandy blowing up. How many survived?"

Jacob closed his eyes as he recalled that information. "There were about a dozen casualties. A few servicemen from the lower decks didn't survive, and Lieutenant Pressly was killed by an explosion. Everyone else, including the non-Alliance crew - Dr. T'Soni, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, and Garrus Vakarian - made it out alive."

"Do you know what any of them are doing now?" Paul asked.

Jacob shook his head. "I don't know, Commander. It has been two years. Most have moved on, and they've left the Alliance. They could be almost anywhere."

"They were my team. If they knew I was alive, they'd come back." Shepard insisted.

"Maybe you can track them down after we get off the station. If we get off the station..." Jacob's voice trailed off.

"When I first woke up, someone named Miranda was talking to me over the radio. We lost contact just before I ran into you."

"Miranda Lawson is the station's ranking officer. Her job was to bring you back to life, no matter what. I could have guessed she wasn't about to give up on you now." Jacob's voice suggested a sort of hero worship...or something else entirely. "You said you lost contact with her. Could you tell what was happening?"

Shepard shook his head. "There was some gunfire and an explosion right before I lost her."

Jacob nodded. "She does know how to take care of herself, but I hope she's okay."

The explosions and gunfire were building to a crescendo in other parts of the station. Paul asked, "What's the quickest way to those shuttles?" _It's time to get off this station before we go down with it._

"That depends on where the mechs are thickest. It's probably best if we-" Jacob's omni-tool suddenly hummed to life.

"Check, check! Is anyone on this frequency? Is anybody still alive out there? Hello?" A very familiar male voice asked.

"Wilson, this is Jacob. I'm here with Commander Shepard, we just took out a wave of mechs over in D-Wing."

"Shepard's alive? How... Never mind. Get to the service tunnels and head for the network control room." Wilson was now giving the orders, and Shepard now knew damn well that had been Wilson in the log he had scanned.

"Roger that, Wilson! Stay on this frequency." Jacob responded.

"I think I remember a Wilson checking on me one time when I woke up." Shepard observed.

Jacob immediately affirmed that observation. "That was him; he's the chief medical tech. Answers directly to Miranda. Come on, the service tunnels are this way." He pointed over his shoulder.

* * *

In case you are interested, Paul Shepard's facial identity code: 331. DJD. LTG. C3G. AAG. 93D. MDJ. 6PG. G72. AG3. 137.6 (remove spaces)


	4. Chapter 4: Lazarus Station, Part 2

LOCATION REDACTED

Jacob Taylor and Paul Shepard proceeded through the door, Jacob taking point. Jacob checked the hall for mechs while Shepard closed the door behind them. "No point in getting hit from behind." Shepard said when Jacob looked at him quizzically.

"No argument here." Jacob said with a wry smile.

The hallway had been pretty well shot up, and mech parts were strewn all over the opposite end. Jacob opened the door only for two more hacked mechs to fold up to active position. "On-line." One of the mechs stated.

Shepard blew the mech's head off with three well-placed shots, and Jacob ripped the other one off the floor with a biotic pull. "Damn it, Wilson! This room is crawling with mechs." Jacob said into his omni-tool as the two took cover.

Wilson's response was caustic. "The whole station is crawling with mechs! I'm doing the best I can."

"I'm sure of it." Shepard said sarcastically as Jacob closed the comlink. "Something's awfully odd, here, Jacob."

Jacob made no reply as he snapped off six quick shots to disable another mech further down the hall. "Wilson, find us another way out of here, preferably one that doesn't lead right into an enemy squad!"

"Just keep moving toward the control room. Don't get pinned down." Wilson advised. Shepard shook his head as Jacob led him further towards the shuttle bay...or at least, what Shepard hoped was the shuttle bay. _Jacob seems to be trustworthy so far. Wilson, though..._

"Oh God! They found me! HELP!" Wilson said suddenly over omni-tool.

"Wilson? Where are you?" Jacob asked.

"Server room B! Hurry! They're out of control!" Wilson got even more desperate, and Shepard had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. _The way these mechs are going about the station, Wilson either has to have a really strong kinetic shield, or he's faking._

"Follow me, Shepard." Jacob said confidently. "That's just up these stairs." As they reached the top of the staircase, Jacob ran his omni-tool over the door to open it. Shepard raised an eyebrow, and Jacob explained, "Just a standard security measure. Omni-gel stopped cutting it a while back."

"Bet that pissed a lot of people off." Shepard responded.

"Jacob! Shepard, down here!" Wilson shouted. "Bastards got me in the leg!" Wilson said piteously as Shepard and Jacob drew closer.

Shepard stated, "You were there the first time I regained consciousness."

Wilson nodded bitterly. "Yeah. That was me. Can we have this conversation after you fix my leg?"

"There should be some medi-gel in the first aid station on the wall." Jacob said quietly as he used one hand to cover the wound.

Shepard nodded, opened the aid station and grabbed three containers of the life-saving material. He handed one to Jacob, who applied it to Wilson's wound. After a moment, the medi-gel did its work and Wilson's wound healed up. Shepard was even more suspicious when Wilson rose to his feet. _There's no way a 3-round burst weapon can do that unless the first two shots took down his shields. This does not add up._

"Thanks, Shepard. I never thought you'd save my life. I guess that makes us even now." Wilson said; his voice almost deferential. "I thought maybe I could shut down the security mechs from here, but whatever or whoever did this fried the whole system. The damage is irreversible."

Jacob waved his hand dismissively. "We didn't ask what you were doing. Why do you even have security mech clearance? You were stationed over in the bio wing." _Good, Jacob, don't take any bullshit from him,_ Paul Shepard thought.

Immediately Wilson bristled. "Weren't you listening?! I was here trying to fix this! Besides, I was shot! How do you explain that?"

Shepard waved his own hand in almost an imitation of Jacob. "You're all strangers to me. Let's get somewhere safe and then figure out who's at fault for what happened here." His own suspicions pointed a damning finger at Wilson.

Jacob nodded. "Right, Shepard. We need to find Miranda, though. We can't leave her behind."

Wilson tried to rule that out at once. "Ah, forget about Miranda! She was over in D-Wing, and mechs were all over that section! There's no way she got out alive." Shepard shook his head. _How are you so certain of that, Wilson?_ Paul left that thought unvoiced, though.

"A bunch of mechs aren't going to drop Miranda, Wilson. She's alive." Wilson almost looked crestfallen at Jacob's emphatic statement.

"Then where is she? Why haven't we heard from her? There are only two possibilities: she's either dead, or she's a traitor!"

"If that's the case, then why did she wake me up and warn me about the attack?" Paul said emphatically.

"Okay, so maybe she's not a traitor, but that doesn't change the fact that we're here and she's not." Wilson shrugged. "Look, we have to save ourselves. The shuttles are only a few-" The doors that he indicated suddenly opened to reveal eight mechs.

As they dove for cover, Wilson said, "We can use overload to blow those canisters and the mechs." _Odd how you just figured that out, Wilson. _Paul thought sarcastically.

"Do you need an engraved invitation, Wilson?" Shepard asked, his tone positively acidic. Wilson hastily complied; one messy explosion and a bunch of destroyed mechs later, they were clear.

Shepard was about to walk down the hall towards the shuttles when Jacob said, "Okay, we took them down, but this is getting tense. Shepard, if I tell you who we work for, will you trust me?" Shepard turned back to him.

"Is this really the time, Jacob?" Wilson asked.

"We're not going to make it if he's waiting for a shot in the back, Wilson." Before the scientist could respond, Jacob said, "The Lazarus Project, the program that rebuilt you? It's funded and controlled by Cerberus."

Paul shook his head. Now those damn logos were making a lot more sense. "I ran into Cerberus more than a few times back when I was investigating Saren. They killed an Alliance admiral and I blew up one of their cells in response. Why would they bring me back?"

Jacob shrugged. "That answer is way above me pay grade, but basically, things changed. After less than a month, the Alliance declared you dead and gave up on your cause. Cerberus spent a fortune to bring you back." _About four billion credits, if Wilson is to be believed._ Shepard thought. "Look, I'd be suspicious too if I was in your shoes, Shepard, but right now, we have to work together. I thought you deserved to know what's what. Once we're off the station, I'll take you to the Illusive Man. He'll explain the rest."

Shepard nodded. "I appreciate that, Jacob. I hope you understand if I have certain reservations about this. Let's get moving."

"It's not much farther to the shuttle bay." Wilson stated. Jacob's eyes looked thoughtful but he accepted what Shepard had to say.

"Jacob, would you mind taking point?" Shepard asked.

"Not a problem, Commander." Jacob answered, leading them down two more corridors. Finally, they arrived in a large open area with cargo containers strewn about in no particular fashion. Three mechs rose from their crouched positions, only for Shepard and Jacob to concentrate incendiary rounds on two of them. Both of their targets went down rather quickly. Wilson hung back, gimping a bit from his wound, but he overloaded one of the mechs with an omni-tool attack. The mechs practically threw thermal clips all over the floor, and Shepard picked up a fresh clip for his pistol.

There was a ramp leading to yet another room, and Jacob indicated that they should go to the right. Before they could do get inside, seven more mechs opened fire from long range. _Thank you for that, security bots. _Shepard grimaced as he took cover behind a cargo container. _Machine pistols are anything but accurate at range._ Wilson immediately ducked behind some shatterproof glass and launched another overload attack, while Jacob and Shepard split their fire between targets. "Target down!" Jacob called out as he shot the head off of one security mech.

"These ones aren't armored like the earlier ones, Jacob!" Shepard yelled.

"Try getting them off their feet!" Jacob responded. Shepard reached out with his biotics to lift one of the mechs...only to drag it towards him. _That's different; I don't remember it working quite like that before_...

Wilson fired another omni-tool attack at the mech that Shepard had pulled off the ground and Jacob launched a biotic strike of his own. Shepard leveled his pistol at a mech from behind cover and drilled it in the gun arm, sending the M-4 Shuriken clattering to the floor and shooting the arm off entirely. Jacob threw the disabled mech across the room with a biotic attack, such that it collided with another and caused it to explode. "Two for the price of one!" Shepard said with a half-smile. Another omni-tool attack by Wilson took out another mech, and Shepard pulled another flying into the air. Jacob launched another throw attack at the flying mech and sent it hurtling into a wall with enough force to snap its arms off.

"Systems failure-ure..." The mech said almost sadly as it powered down. Wilson opened the door leading to the shuttles with his omni-tool, and hastily moved to open the other.

"Hurry, we're almost at the-The second set of doors opened to reveal Miranda standing there, an M-4 Shuriken at the ready. Wilson was utterly stunned to see her, and stammered out, "Miranda! But you were-". Miranda snarled as she saw Wilson, and leveled her M-4 Shuriken pistol to fire at point blank range. A single shot and a sickening gurgle later, Wilson bled out through his throat. _A brutal way to go. _Shepard thought.

Miranda finished Wilson's sentence contemptuously, "Dead?"

"What the hell are you doing?!" Jacob was incredulous.

Miranda looked down. "My job. Wilson betrayed us all."

"I had a feeling Wilson was looking for a chance to shoot me in the back." Shepard said coolly as he stowed his M-5 pistol. "I had some suspicion earlier, but..."

"Good instincts." Miranda said with a small smile. "Some people are far too trusting to ever see that coming. Come on, let's grab this shuttle and get out of here. My boss wants to speak with you."

Paul nodded, "You mean the Illusive Man? I know that you work for Cerberus."

Miranda shook her head with a small smile. "Ah, Jacob. I should have known that your conscience would get the better of you."

Jacob said firmly, "Lying to the commander isn't going to get him to join our cause."

Miranda turned to Shepard, her face resolute. "Well, since we're getting everything out in the open, is there anything else you'd like to ask, Commander?"

"What happened after we lost contact over the radio, Miranda?" Shepard asked.

"Wilson sent practically an army of mechs to try to take me out." Miranda responded caustically. "I got here as quickly as I could." She gave Wilson's dead body a bitter smile. "Probably a little too quickly, if you ask Wilson."

"Let's get going." Shepard decided. "I've had enough of this station to last a lifetime."

"Or two, in your case. Come on." Miranda gestured to the shuttle.

* * *

CERBERUS SHUTTLE, EN ROUTE FROM LAZARUS STATION TO [LOCATION REDACTED]

Shepard sat back and closed his eyes as the shuttle accelerated to FTL speeds. Miranda looked over a set of data files on her omni-tool and stated, "Before you meet with the Illusive Man, there are a few questions we need to ask to evaluate your condition."

"What, we have to do this now?" Jacob was about ready to roll his eyes in exasperation.

Miranda looked at him as though the answer was obvious to her. "We should have done weeks of testing to confirm the success of Project Lazarus. A few questions during the shuttle ride will have to suffice."

Jacob looked wearily up at the shuttle's ceiling light, then activated his omni-tool. "Okay, records show you were a spacer kid, raised mostly from one ship to another. You enlisted and survived a thresher maw attack on Akuze that wiped out the rest of your squad. Do you remember that?"

Paul nodded, wearily. "I lost a lot of friends that day. Going through something like that can change you...break you, if you let it."

"I read the report." Jacob said solemnly. "Fifty marines died on Akuze. You were only one of two survivors." He turned and asked, "Satisfied, Miranda?"

Miranda ignored his sarcasm, "Almost, let's try something more recent. Virmire, where you destroyed Saren's cloning facility. You had to leave one of your squad behind to die in the blast."

Jacob picked up from there. "Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams was killed in action. It was your call. Why was she left behind?"

Shepard had to keep indignation from creeping into his voice. "I left a friend behind that day and I didn't do it casually. I had to save as many people as I could. Ash gave her life for the rest of the team. Without her, I couldn't have stopped Saren. She died a hero."

Jacob nodded. "I understand, Commander, and I wasn't judging that decision. Everybody in Cerberus knows that cloning facility had to be destroyed."

Miranda asked, "Shepard, think back to the Citadel, after the Alliance saved the Destiny Ascension and you killed Saren. What happened next?"

Shepard recalled that. "Humanity was offered a spot on the Council, and I was asked to choose between Captain Anderson and Ambassador Udina. I recommended Anderson for the position." _Like I was going to recommend that slimeball Udina for the job, especially after that stunt where he issued an illegal order to lock down the Normandy._ Shepard thought.

Miranda nodded in confirmation. "Yes, and Captain Anderson is now Councilor Anderson. Although from what I hear, he vastly preferred life in the military."

"Still, it's a damn good thing to know that the human councilor won't put politics ahead of defense." Jacob pointed out.

"There are some other tests we really should run..." Miranda tried to get in another question, but Jacob refused.

"Come on, Miranda, enough with the quizzes. The memories are all there, and I can vouch for Shepard's combat skills firsthand." Jacob stated.

"I suppose you're right. We'll have to hope the Illusive Man accepts our little field tests as evidence enough." Miranda shrugged casually. The shuttle shuddered slightly as it down-transitioned from FTL to sublight.

"Approach has begun." The shuttle's VI announced.

* * *

LOCATION REDACTED, JULY 23rd, 2185

Shepard exited the shuttle and entered into another sterile, predominately white space station. He mused, _You've got to admit, Cerberus has a fair hand for __making an unwelcoming environment._

"The Illusive Man is waiting for you in the briefing room." Miranda said without preamble, walking to a computer console.

"I wouldn't keep the Illusive Man waiting." Jacob suggested.

Shepard shrugged his shoulders and walked up to an armor locker. "Time to change things up, first. Might as well make myself presentable."

A few moments later, he had changed the appearance of his armor from the Onyx-series façade to something resembling Predator M Armor. _It looks like what I wore when I took on Saren...Sovereign beat the crap out of that armor._ His arm suddenly twinged in pain as he remembered the impact of Sovereign's arm slamming into the Citadel Tower. He'd nearly been squashed under that wreckage, and had come out alive...to a stunning salute from Urdnot Wrex and several C-Sec and Alliance officers.

Paul walked down to the briefing room, but there was nobody else present...at first. As he walked into the center of the circle in the briefing room, his surroundings began to change. He was no longer in a darkened room, but rather in what appeared to be a vast room with a sun blazing away in the background. He looked around, and saw a very well-dressed man sitting in an...unusual...chair, sipping a glass of what looked like rather expensive liquor.

"Commander Shepard." The man greeted him.

"Illusive Man." Shepard folded his arms over his chest and leaned back. "I thought we'd be meeting face to face."

"A necessary precaution...not unusual for people who know what you and I know." The Illusive Man took another sip of his drink.

"And what is it that you and I know, exactly?" Shepard inquired.

The Illusive Man nodded and responded, "That our place in the galaxy is far more fragile than we'd like to think." He raised a glowing cigarette to his lips and exhaled softly. "And that one man, one very specific man, might be all that stands between humanity and the greatest threat to our brief existence."

"The Reapers." Shepard concluded.

"Good to see that your memories are still intact. How are you feeling?" The Illusive Man was going out of his way to be personable. Shepard wasn't having it. _Not after Akuze, not after Binthu, and certainly not now._

"You need to earn the right to ask me those questions." Shepard said flatly. "And while I'm grateful that you brought me back, I hope you'll understand if your organization's history gives me pause. A hell of a big one, at that."

"Cerberus isn't as evil as you believe." The Illusive Man countered. Shepard would have rolled his eyes. _Destroying my unit on Akuze, torturing the only other survivor for years, and assassinating an Alliance Admiral isn't evil? Uh-huh._ "You and I are on the same side, but we have different methods."

_We'll deal with that later. I have a bad feeling this is not going to be the last time I see him._ Shepard thought."So, what are the Reapers doing that made you decide to go to all the trouble of bringing me back?"

The Illusive Man stood to his feet. "We're at war. No one wants to admit it, but humanity is under attack. While you've slept, entire colonies have disappeared. Human colonies. We believe it's someone working for the Reapers in much the same way as Saren and the geth aided Sovereign. You've seen them for yourself, and you defeated the best they offered. That's why we chose you."

Shepard found that hard to take seriously. "Fighting a war doesn't seem like Cerberus. Why are you involved at all?"

The Illusive Man answered readily, "We're committed to the advancement and preservation of humanity. If the Reapers are using proxies to try and prey on humanity, Cerberus will take all the steps necessary to stop them. We can't afford to wait for the Alliance or the bureaucracy of the Citadel Council to act. There won't be any human colonies left by the time they do."

"If this is a threat against humanity, you should do something to mobilize the Alliance." Shepard said firmly. "Anderson's not going to let the politics prevent him from helping humanity."

The Illusive Man sat back and nodded in consideration. "We've tried, but frankly, the Alliance suffered significant casualties fighting the geth and Sovereign. They're still reeling from the losses they suffered then, and the human fleet is spread too thin to act accordingly now."

"Nothing you can say will convince me to trust you. I need something more than mere words." Paul folded his arms and leaned back, again. If the Illusive Man could detect his hostility, he gave no indication.

"Frankly, I'd be disappointed if I convinced you to trust me that easily. You should go and see for yourself. I have a shuttle ready to take you to Freedom's Progress, the latest colony to be abducted." The Illusive Man turned back to his seat. "Miranda and Jacob will brief you."

"Is this a volunteer job, or am I being volunteered?" Shepard asked.

"You always have a choice, Shepard." The Illusive Man's answer was a bit surprising. "If you don't find the evidence you're looking for, we can part ways then. But go to Freedom's Progress first, and find any clues you can. Who's abducting our colonists? Do they have any connection to the Reapers?" He asked a pair of rhetorical questions, both of which seemed painfully obvious to Shepard. _Why else would I go there, to go mountain climbing? _The Illusive Man concluded, "I brought you back. It's up to you to do the rest."

With that, he terminated the connection.

As Shepard left the comm room, he felt better than he had after the Citadel or his battle with Saren. _I guess my body is finally getting used to the idea of being alive, again. They definitely upgraded my implants, though, and I'll have to see what they did later._ He approached Miranda, but she started talking as he drew closer. "The Illusive Man is very impressed with you. I'm eager to see if you can live up to his expectations on this mission."

"I never got a chance to say how much I appreciate what the Lazarus Project did for me." Paul said. "Thank you."

"I just hope it was worth it. A lot of good personnel lost their lives on that station." Miranda replied, almost wistful. _Do you blame me for that, or the mole that got through Cerberus's security net and almost took down the entire operation?_ Paul thought.

Shepard shook his head. "We do have to work together, Miranda. I don't think your attitude is helping any."

Miranda looked almost disgustedly at Shepard. "I have the utmost respect for your abilities, Shepard. It's your motivations that concern me. You and Cerberus clashed enough over the course of 2183, and I actually believe in what Cerberus stands for. Only time will tell if you prove to be an asset or a liability to our cause."

_So it's probably better to drop that subject._ Paul thought. "What can you tell me about this colony that we're going to?"

Miranda looked up from her computer. "Freedom's Progress? It's a typical human settlement in the Terminus Systems. They had a small military and security force supplemented by LOKI and YMIR mechs, along with a squad of automated security drones. Its average in almost every way, and it was completely unremarkable until the disappearance."

"Do you have any thoughts about what we'll find there?" Paul decided to go along that line of questioning.

Miranda shrugged again. "If this is anything like the last few disappearances, we'll find a lot of empty buildings and one giant mystery."

"Can you tell me about yourself, Miranda?" Paul asked.

Miranda almost smiled; giving herself even more of a chilling expression. "Worried about my qualifications? I can crush a mech with my biotics or shoot its head off at 100 yards. Take your pick."

"Did you and Jacob serve together in the Alliance?" Shepard asked after a moment's pause.

Miranda shook her head. "No. The Illusive Man recognized my potential and recruited me at a young age."

"How old were you?" Paul asked tentatively.

"I was old enough to know that this was what I wanted." Miranda replied.

"It's obvious you aren't interested in talking right now." Shepard said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Miranda turned back to her work. "We've got an assignment; we can talk about it, or we can do it."

He left Miranda and walked over to Jacob, who looked outside a viewport at the stars beyond. "I'm glad the Illusive Man convinced you to come along with us as far as Freedom's Progress, Commander."

"I'm going to investigate possible Reaper-related attacks. I still don't trust a word Cerberus says." Shepard folded his arms over his chest.

Jacob accepted that answer. "Noted. Do you trust me, Commander?"

"For the moment, yes. You're a good man, Jacob, but you might be working for the wrong people." Shepard said after a moment.

Jacob looked away at the stars through the viewport. "Maybe. But I thought the same when I worked for the Alliance. Guess that's why I'm here now."

Paul nodded and asked, "How long did you spend in the Alliance?"

Jacob answered thoughtfully. "About five years, total. Stationed all over the galaxy, and I was stationed on Eden Prime when the geth attacked. Even spent a couple of years as a Corsair."

That intrigued Paul. "What were the Corsairs? I've never heard of them, and I spent a fair amount of time in the Alliance military."

"They were an Alliance initiative; they hired starship captains and used them for any missions that fell outside of official Alliance jurisdiction. Technically, we weren't a part of the Alliance. If we ever got caught in the act, they could disavow our actions." Jacob looked thoughtfully out the window again. "They were supposed to be free of regulations, but there was still enough red tape to sink a cruiser. Eventually, I just gave up."

"That's all for now, Jacob." Shepard said.

"Yes, sir." Jacob responded respectfully.

* * *

Mission Summary:

Shepard escaped attack on the facility, along with operatives Taylor and Lawson.

Facility destroyed by remote detonation. Salvage teams will ensure no incriminating data survived. Per Miranda's recommendation, I'm running security sweeps on other cells to ensure that Wilson was our only mole.

Regardless of the cost, Project Lazarus was a success. Shepard is back.


	5. Chapter 5: Freedom's Progress

SHUTTLE, EN ROUTE FROM [LOCATION REDACTED] TO FREEDOM'S PROGRESS

Miranda shifted a bit in her seat as her omni-tool beeped. "We should arrive at Freedom's Progress shortly, Shepard. The Illusive Man put us under your command. Do you have any orders?"

"Is there anything that makes you think this investigation will be any different than the past few?"

Miranda nodded. "We're the first ones on the scene this time. In the other cases, some of the colonies got stripped bare by looters operating out of the Terminus."

Paul took in that answer and stated, "Our first priority is to look for any survivors." Paul leaned forward in his seat.

"That's unlikely." Miranda said pessimistically. "No one was left at the other colonies. They were completely deserted."

"It would be nice to find somebody. Anything's better than another ghost town." Jacob stated.

"Weapons wise, what do we have?" Shepard asked.

"We've got more than just that M-5 Phalanx pistol for you." Jacob said. "The files all indicate that you prefer Rosenkov Materials, but they've gotten more exclusive since 2183. I was able to acquire a Kovalyov VIII for you and reconfigure it to take thermal clips. It's far better than that Elkoss Combine mass-produced crap; while the M-8 Avenger might be the industry standard, it is NOT my first choice for a firearm."

Paul gave Jacob a short nod. "I'll gladly take a Kovalyov. Are there any decent shotguns on the market?"

Jacob nodded in response. "The M-23 Katana and the M-27 Scimitar, Commander. Rosenkov discontinued the Sokolov line of shotguns, much to the disgust of half the Systems Alliance. Armax Arsenal has an excellent product line and I might be able to get a couple. Just not right away. All we have for now are the M-23's."

Shepard shrugged. "Ariake makes the Katana, and those are pretty solid...at least from what I remember."

Miranda took out an M-3 Predator pistol from the weapons locker of the shuttle to supplement her M-4 Shuriken, while Jacob and Shepard took an M-5 Phalanx pistol each. True to his word, Jacob had acquired a K-84 Kovalyov Assault Rifle and Shepard hefted the weapon in his hands. He noticed a white activation plate on his omni-tool, positioned next to the incendiary ammunition equip-button. He pressed it out of curiosity and was surprised slightly when the grip suddenly got much cooler and a pair of ice-white bars blinked into existence on either side of the barrel of his assault rifle. Paul smiled again. "Nice. Cryo rounds?" He asked Jacob.

"Yes, commander." Jacob answered, activating his incendiary ammunition modifier.

The shuttle landed with a small thud, and Shepard threw the K-84 Kovalyov over his shoulder, feeling it disassemble into its stowed position. He unholstered the M-5 Phalanx and readied incendiary ammunition. "Ready?" Shepard asked Miranda and Jacob.

Before they could answer, the shuttle's doors opened and Shepard walked out into the open air of a planet for the first time in over two years. It was...incredible. The cool night air swirled about the shuttle craft, and Shepard took in a deep breath. He smiled slightly and stepped onto the grate of the landing platform. _Now it gets fun. _Paul thought.

* * *

FREEDOM'S PROGRESS, JULY 23rd, 2185

The trio proceeded into the first building next to the landing pad, Shepard taking point with Jacob and Miranda flanking his right and left, respectively. As they entered, the lights suddenly activated. "Looks like everyone just got up in the middle of dinner." Jacob observed.

Shepard nodded, keeping his M-5 at the ready. They left the first building and filed down a staircase to the left. This part of the colony had once been a cargo processing yard, and from the files that Paul had read, Freedom's Progress was just about to begin major expansion projects. _Looks like someone had a more insidious design in mind._ Shepard mused.

"Strange. No bodies, no structural damage, and no signs of battle." Miranda pointed out.

Shepard scanned a storage container and received a notification that Cerberus would authorize his account for 1000 credits. He gave Miranda a glance and she cleared her throat. "Cerberus does offer a bounty for scanning potentially valuable technology."

"Good to know." Shepard said with a small smile.

He opened a cargo door that separated one area of the colony from another, only to hear a familiar whirring noise. He immediately readied his pistol as a very familiar mechanical voice said, "Activated."

Shepard didn't wait, he immediately sprinted to cover, Miranda and Jacob hot on his heels. Two LOKI mechs opened fire on the squad, only to be cut down as Shepard, Miranda and Jacob unleashed a spray of pistol fire. Both mechs exploded, and Jacob asked, "Did you hear that? Sounds like FENRIS mechs."

"Strange." Miranda answered. "Security systems were disabled at the other colonies." The doors to another building opened to reveal two crouched over mechs, which ran towards the trio. Paul switched his Phalanx for the Kovalyov just as Miranda switched her Predator heavy pistol for the Shuriken. A withering hail of bullets stopped the pair of mechs in their tracks, and both exploded moments later. A single LOKI mech remained. Shepard concentrated on the mech, and before he knew it, he hurtled over a pair of stairs and almost through a narrow wall, crashing into the mech. The LOKI's armor wasn't nearly strong enough to protect it from what amounted to a rocket-speed tackle, and it crashed over with a thud. Shepard shook his head, disoriented by the experience.

"That was a biotic charge." Miranda explained, running up to Paul after he caught his breath. He looked a little dazed by the experience, and shook his head back and forth a few times. "That's a feature of the new L5n implants, and it effectively protects you from hostile fire as you race towards an opponent. It also recharges your shields after impact."

Shepard shook his head again furiously. "Well, that wasn't what I expected. I know the L3's reinforced my barriers when I ran, but that was truly something...different."

"You'll get used to it." Miranda said with a smile. "Trust me on that."

"Those mechs shouldn't have been hostile." Jacob said after a moment's pause. "They should have recognized us as human."

"Someone reprogrammed them to attack us on sight. We're not alone here." Miranda said with a sigh.

Shepard stowed the Kovalyov and activated the Shuriken he had recovered on the Lazarus Station. Shepard noticed a wall safe and immediately set about cracking it with his omni-tool. "They might have had a security recording or password inside. You never know what you'll find with these things..." He grunted with satisfaction as he hacked the lock. "No Colossus Armor this time, but about 2000 credits." He took a canister of medi-gel from a first aid kit on a bedside next to the safe.

"They see you, Shepard!" Miranda called out as another LOKI mech and two FENRIS mechs activated. Her biotics suddenly flared and a huge biotic explosion later, the three mechs were lying on the floor, unable to move. Paul immediately neutralized all three of the disabled mechs with his Shuriken.

Shepard approached the building where the mechs had crouched and prepared to open the door. Miranda and Jacob held their pistols at ready position, and Shepard activated the door using his omni-tool. There were three or four humanoid figures wearing unusual garb, possibly environmental suits, but in the low lighting, it wasn't easy to make them out. Paul quickly pulled his M-4 Shuriken, equipped with Cryo rounds out, while Miranda and Jacob leveled their pistols at the unexpected visitors. "Stop right there!" A heavily accented voice demanded as the humanoids quickly leveled an assault rifle, a shotgun, and another kind of heavy pistol that Shepard couldn't quite recognize at the squad.

_Great, three against three, and they've got us outgunned significantly._ Shepard thought. "Prazza! You said you'd let me handle this!" A very familiar voice insisted. Shepard practically gasped as he caught sight of the woman who had given him the information he needed to take down Saren. "Wait...Shepard?!" Tali'Zorah asked.

"I'm not taking any chances with Cerberus operatives!" The quarian that Tali had called Prazza said emphatically, his trigger finger appearing to twitch.

"Put those weapons down!" Tali barked at Prazza. She turned to Shepard, her voice almost quivering. "Shepard...is that? You're alive?!"

Shepard nodded. "Do you remember when we stopped that major geth offensive in the Armstrong Nebula, Tali, and I gave you the geth data after we destroyed the base on Solcrum? Did that help you complete your Pilgrimage?"

Tali nodded deeply, and while Shepard couldn't be certain with her enviro-suit, he swore she was smiling. "Yes, it did. Prazza, weapons down. This is definitely Commander Shepard."

Prazza seemed incredibly skeptical. "Why is your old commander working for Cerberus?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should ask." Tali suggested in a diplomatic tone.

Shepard answered her. "I did die, Tali, and Cerberus spent over 4 billion credits trying to bring me back over the last two years. They indicated that the Reapers might be responsible for what happened to these missing human colonies."

"A likely story," Prazza scoffed, "No organization would commit so many resources just to bring back one soldier."

Tali shook her head ardently. "You haven't seen Shepard in action, Prazza. Trust me, it was money well-spent." _Thank you, Tali. _Shepard thought. "Perhaps we can work together." Tali offered. "One of our people was here on Pilgrimage, and he was here during the attack. He's a young quarian called Veetor, and we came to find him."

"Isn't that a little strange...a quarian visiting a remote human colony?" Shepard hadn't heard of that, but then again, he'd been out of the picture entirely for the last two years.

Tali answered, "Not particularly. Quarians can choose where they go on Pilgrimage. Veetor was almost an outsider in the flotilla and he liked the idea of helping a small settlement. He was never comfortable in crowds..."

"She means that he was unstable." Prazza piped up. "Combine that nervousness with damage to his suit's CO2 scrubbers and a possible infection from an open-air exposure, and he's likely delirious."

Tali nodded and turned to Shepard. "When he saw our ship landing, he hid in a warehouse on the far side of the colony. We suspect he also programmed the mechs to attack anything that moved."

Paul took that information in and said, "Veetor's our only witness, and the only person who can really tell us what happened here. We should work together to find him."

Tali nodded, finding that suggestion quite acceptable. "Good idea. You'll likely need two teams to get past the drones, anyway."

Prazza bristled in annoyance. "Now we're working with Cerberus?!" The quarian male was quite incredulous.

Tali's shoulders rose in disgust and her voice took on a hard edge; she stared balefully at Prazza and he backed down on the spot. "No, Prazza, you're working for me! But if you're going to have problems following the most basic and simple of orders, you should go wait on the damn ship." The annoyance faded as she turned back to Shepard. "You should head for the warehouse through the center of the colony. We'll circle around the far side and draw away some of the drones to clear you a path."

Shepard couldn't help but notice the utter hostility that threatened to ignite between Tali and Miranda. "Your people _really_ don't like Cerberus. What did I miss?"

Prazza answered disgustedly. "They attacked our people, infiltrated our flotilla, and attempted to destroy one of our ships."

"That's not how I would have explained it, exactly..." Miranda's voice trailed off as Shepard fixed her with a glare. "It was nothing personal."

"We can argue over who killed who later." Jacob said. "Right now, we've got a job to do."

Tali nodded. "Agreed. We work together to get to Veetor."

"Be sure to keep in radio contact, Tali. It's great to see you again." Shepard said with a genuine smile.

"Will do. Good luck, Shepard. Whatever the circumstances...it's great to have you back." Tali walked away, following Prazza and his fellow quarian marines. Prazza shot Miranda a savage glare before leaving, and Miranda threw her hands up in the air in disgust after he was gone.

"It really **was** nothing personal, Shepard." Miranda explained. "And it certainly wasn't my operation. I can tell you I wouldn't have bothered going after the Migrant Fleet in my worst nightmares."

Shepard nodded. Miranda had no reason to lie to him about that part. Prazza bore watching, though. "Let's get moving." He suggested.

"With you, Commander." Miranda responded.

The squad proceeded out of the building and approached a pre-fab shelter unit. An LOKI mech rose from its folded up position in the corner of the room, shiny armor gleaming as it prepared to attack...only to be smashed by a devastating Warp attack from Miranda. Shepard and Jacob then dismantled the mech with a combination Pull in either direction, resulting in one scrambled mess of wires and electrical sparks. "Be careful, Shepard! There's a squad of security drones waiting for you up ahead." Tali cautioned over radio.

"Thanks for the warning. We'll take care of them."

"We're compromised!" Miranda said after they left the building where the mech had been. Shepard saw what she meant; three rocket drones, similar to the ones on Virmire, buzzed and prepared to fire on the squad.

"Use overload on them!" Jacob suggested. Miranda's omni-tool hummed to life and she disabled one of them with a direct hit. Shepard swapped out the Shuriken for the Kovalyov in one smooth motion as Jacob provided covering fire with his Phalanx.

"Impressive!" Miranda called as Jacob demolished a drone with a few well-timed shots. Shepard reached out with his biotics to pull one of the drones towards him, but the shields protected it...or so Paul thought, as Miranda's biotics flared up. The Warp attack that Miranda fired destabilized the Pull that Shepard had used on the drone, triggering a gigantic biotic detonation. The targeted drone and one flanking it exploded. Shepard opened up with the Kovalyov, emptying half of the 36-round magazine into the shields before it also exploded.

As the last of the drones exploded, Tali radioed in. "Shepard! Prazza and the others rushed on ahead! I told them to wait, but they wouldn't listen. They want to find Veetor and take him away before you get here!"

"We should have expected this." Miranda said with a disgusted shake of her head.

Jacob responded, "Come on, we can still catch them."

They proceeded through more abandoned prefab units, and were approaching a huge cargo door when six more security drones flew in. Paul had an idea and related it as quickly as he could. "Miranda, Jacob and I will light the drones up with Pulls. You could wipe them out with a Warp." Miranda nodded and Jacob and Shepard proceeded. Two biotic strikes later, two of the drones were struck by partially glowing biotic fields. Miranda blew one apart with a warp attack, causing collateral damage to the other nearby drones, and the squad proceeded to lay down a murderous spread of fire on the remaining targets. Three drones exploded in less than ten seconds. The remaining one, under concentrated fire from the squad, stood no chance and blew apart.

Tali again checked in. "Hurry, Shepard, we're inside the loading docks. Veetor reprogrammed a heavy mech! It's tearing Prazza and his squad apart!"

"They did want to get to Veetor first." Miranda said with a wry expression.

"Get your squad into cover and I'll open the loading bay doors." Tali said.

"We'll take cover beside the doors. Shepard, you take point." Miranda suggested, heading to the left corner while Jacob took the right one.

Shepard chose a concrete barricade for cover and radioed over omni-tool. "We're in cover, Tali, you can open the doors."

* * *

On the other side of the doors, Tali'Zorah used her omni-tool to open the much heavier loading bay doors, running for cover as soon as she confirmed they were open. Behind her, Prazza and three quarian marines attempted to make a stand using only an Avenger assault rifle and a pair of Predator heavy pistols. This was hopelessly inadequate against the YMIR mech, and one of the male quarians was cut down. A woman was knocked flying and attempted to rise to her feet, only to get stomped by the mech. A single bullet to the head later, she bled out inside of her enviro-suit. Two of the remaining quarians attempted to rig a grenade launcher, only for the bulky mech to fire a rocket of its own before they could get a shot off. The launcher exploded, killing both of them. As Prazza tried to close to range using his Avenger assault rifle, his rifle did exactly what Elkoss Combine weapons were infamous for, it jammed up on the spot. He froze, only for the mech to practically spray him from head to toe with machine gun fire. His butchered body hit the ground and blood spattered everywhere.

Tali realized then that she had left her prized M-22 Eviscerator in the shuttle and cursed to herself. She had her Carnifex and her omni-tool, and that was... Her eyes widened into a frosty near-smile inside the enviro-suit. Over the radio, she heard the male Cerberus agent say, "That mech's got battlefield-grade shielding and heavy armor plating. Those quarian marines never had a chance."

"This is going to be one tough son of a bitch to take down." The woman agent responded.

Tali activated her combat drone and prepared to give Shepard and company a much-needed distraction.

* * *

"ON-LINE." The heavy mech declared as it readied an almost solid stream of machine fire at Paul Shepard. Jacob launched a pull attack, and while it did little more than distract the mech, it set up a devastating Warp attack by Miranda a few moments later that detonated what remained of Pull. Shepard threw another pull attack at the mech just as Tali's combat drone closed on the YMIR mech. The pull influenced the mech's pattern infinitesimally, but the drone was the greater threat and it reprioritized, turning its side to Shepard's squad briefly. That was the avenue Shepard needed; as he stepped up, Kovalykov blazing away, Miranda stepped up, firing her M-4 Shuriken repeatedly. Their combined fire rapidly depleted the YMIR's shields. The YMIR demolished Tali's combat drone with a missile, but not before Jacob drained the last of the shields with pistol. Miranda suddenly launched a biotic attack that seemingly caused the mech's outer armor to explode, or at least, caused its front armor to go flying all over the place. Tali opened fire on the mech with her hand cannon, and under fire from not three but four weapons, the mech began to fail. Jacob finished the mech off by placing one M-5 shot inside the "head" of the YMIR, causing it to snap off entirely. Shepard's squad was moving towards the warehouse Veetor had chosen for protection when the mech's ruined body began to beep ominously.

Shepard turned to the destroyed mech and yelled, "It's about to go up! Take cover!" Seconds later, the mech's body glowed white hot and then detonated in a colossal boom that reverberated across the landscape.

* * *

Tali would have gone with them to the building when she noticed one of the quarian marines. The woman was badly injured but still alive...incredibly. She immediately broke out medi-gel and began administering it to her fallen comrade. Shepard drew closer and was about to ask her a question, but Tali cut him off. "This is your chance to get to Veetor while I tend to the wounded, Shepard. He's somewhere in that warehouse." Shepard nodded after a moment and walked away. She heard the clink of a glass container hitting the ground and looked at where he had been, seeing another vial of medi-gel on the ground. "Thank you, Shepard." Tali whispered as she applied the medi-gel to her badly wounded squadmate. "You might have just saved her life."

* * *

Commander Paul Shepard approached the warehouse at the back of the loading bay, but not before scanning a disabled YMIR mech with his omni-tool. "Looks like it was packing a bit more ammunition than the other unit...too bad it never got a chance to defend the colonists. You never know when this sort of information might come in handy in the future, either for us or for the other Terminus colonies." He said to Jacob. Jacob nodded soberly as Shepard walked up the stairs to the warehouse. He opened the door, and immediately, Shepard caught sight of Veetor...or rather, the back of Veetor's head. The quarian youth stared at a three-by-three display of video monitors and ran his fingers furiously over the keyboard, tapping in command after command.

"Monsters returning, swarms coming. Have to hide, mechs will protect. Safe from swarms. No more monsters, no more swarms. No-no-no-no-no..." Veetor's voice trailed off.

"Veetor?" Paul asked.

The quarian shook his head and shuddered slightly. "No Veetor, not here. Swarms can't find, monsters coming; have to hide."

"Nobody's going to hurt you, Veetor." Shepard reassured the shaken quarian.

Jacob said quietly, "I don't think he can hear you, Commander."

Shepard readied his omni-tool and shut all the monitors down. Veetor looked shocked as he turned to see them. "You're human! Where did you hide? How come they didn't find you?" He asked suspiciously.

"How come who didn't find us?" Miranda asked, puzzled.

"The monsters, the swarms. They took everybody." Veetor explained.

"We're not survivors, Veetor." Paul clarified. "We only just got here ourselves."

"You didn't know, then. You didn't see. But I see everything." Veetor said, a hard edge coming into his voice. He reactivated the monitors and prepared a playback.

"Looks like security footage." Jacob said after a moment. "He had to have pieced it together manually." The picture was fuzzy, but there was something moving in the foreground, and Miranda pointed it out.

"Can you pause there, Veetor?" She asked. The quarian nodded, and she gasped after a moment as the picture resolved to reveal a very strange alien. "My God. I think that's a Collector."

"I thought the Collectors kept to themselves." Shepard said with a slow shake of his head.

Miranda confirmed that suspicion. "They usually work through intermediaries, like slavers or hired mercenaries. If they're involved with the Reapers somehow, it could explain what happened to the colonies." Veetor continued playing the footage. More Collectors were dragging about strange pods of some sort, and a pair of them loaded an unconscious human into a pod. _At least, I __**really**__ hope that person was unconscious. _Shepard thought. _I can't imagine many more horrible ways to go_.

"The Collectors have some incredibly advanced technology at their disposal." Jacob pointed out. "They could easily have a weapon that disables an entire settlement at once."

"Seeker swarms." Veeter said sadly. "The swarms find you, freeze you. Then the monsters take you away."

"Do you have any idea why the Collectors didn't take you?" Shepard asked cautiously.

Veetor seemed to shrug. "The swarms didn't find me. Monsters didn't know I was here."

Jacob digested that information and came up with an idea. "The Collectors aren't known for being careless. His enviro-suit could have kept him from registering with whatever sensors they used."

"They could have been using technology specifically designed to human bio-signs." Miranda pointed out. "Only human colonies have been hit thus far."

"What happened after the footage cuts out, Veetor?" Shepard inquired.

"The monsters loaded the people onto their ship, and then they left. The ship flew away. But they'll be back for me. No one escapes." Veetor's tone grew more haunted.

Miranda nodded. "That might be all we get out of him, Commander."

Shepard turned to Veetor and said firmly, "Thank you for showing us what you were able to, Veetor. You were very helpful."

Veetor nodded. "I studied them. The swarms, the monsters...I recorded it all with my omni-tool. Lots of unusual readings; dark energy, high electromagnetic spikes across the gamma and x-ray bands."

"We should get this data to the Illusive Man as quickly as possible." Miranda said suddenly. "Grab the quarian and call the shuttle to come pick us up."

The doors to the warehouse opened suddenly and Tali practically charged in. "WHAT?!" Her voice was incredulous. "Veetor is injured! He needs medical treatment, not a brute force interrogation!"

Jacob tried to step in, "We won't harm him. We just need to see if he knows anything valuable."

Miranda cut in. "Your people tried to betray us already. We have no assurance that we'll get the data we need if we hand him over to you."

Tali rejected that offer on the spot. "Prazza was an idiot, and he and his men paid for it with their lives. You're more than welcome to Veetor's omni-tool data, but please, just let me take him!" She appealed to Shepard.

"You don't have to take Veetor and fly back right away, do you, Tali? We could work together, just like old times." He attempted to reassure her.

Tali shook her head. "As much as I'd like to, I can't. I've got a mission of my own on the horizon, and it's too important to abandon. Even for you. When that mission's over, and I'm still alive, we'll see what happens then."

Shepard stared at Tali. "Sounds like you aren't out for a milk run of an assignment. What are you doing?"

Tali gave Miranda and Jacob a glance, her posture guarded, and even through the enviro-suit, cold. "I don't think Cerberus has any business hearing about it, but it's on the frontier and deep inside geth space. That's all I can say for now."

Shepard nodded, and had already made his decision. "Veetor's been traumatized by his experiences here, and he needs the medical treatment that only his people can give him. Tali will forward us the omni-tool data and take him back to the flotilla."

Miranda didn't disobey that order. "Understood, Commander."

Tali nodded in gratitude. "Thank you, Shepard. I'm glad you're still the one giving the orders here." She extended her hand to him, and he shook it gladly. "Good luck out there, Commander. If I find anything else in Veetor's data that can help you, I'll be sure to let you know." She left the warehouse with Veetor following close behind her. Shepard felt tempted to give Veetor a wave goodbye, but there was something chilling about the security footage that prevented him from making a flippant gesture.

"We're ready for pick-up." Jacob radioed in. As Paul Shepard stared at the security footage, he couldn't help but think that there were a lot of Collectors...more than enough to overrun a small human settlement like this one.

What the future held in store for him, Shepard didn't know. His fists clenched involuntarily, and he thought angrily, _Whatever the motivations of the Collectors are, their attacks on humanity are completely unacceptable. It's time someone stopped them in their tracks._


	6. Chapter 6: The SR2 and the Master Thief

[LOCATION REDACTED]  
JULY 25th, 2185

Shepard missed Freedom's Progress already; even abandoned, it was far more homely than the damned Cerberus station...wherever it was. No sooner had the shuttle arrived at its destination than Miranda had informed Paul that the Illusive Man wished to speak to him.

The briefing room again was replaced by the blazing star beyond, and the Illusive Man looked up at Shepard with a smile. "Shepard, good work on Freedom's Progress. The quarians forwarded us their findings from Veetor's debriefing. There's not much there that we didn't know already, but it's still a surprising olive branch given our history." Shepard nodded but said nothing. He was amazed that Tali had sent anything to Cerberus in addition to the omni-tool data._ Chances are she only did that because of our friendship, _Paul mused. The Illusive Man continued. "You and I may have different methods, but I can't argue with your results."

Shepard was still trying to figure out Cerberus's place in all this. He asked, "Have you ever thought about playing nice once in a while? I imagine that information came pretty begrudgingly..." Especially after a Cerberus cell launched what amounted to a terrorist attack on the Migrant fleet, if both Miranda and Tali are right.

The Illusive Man tilted his head slightly. "Diplomacy may be a useful thing when it works, but it's difficult to accomplish when everyone sees you as a threat." He replied. "More importantly, you were able to confirm that the Collectors are behind the abductions?"

Paul raised his shoulders forward and let them drop back. "Who are they, exactly? Does Cerberus have any detailed intel on them?"

The Illusive Man frowned and shook his head. "The Collectors are enigmatic at best. They travel to the Terminus Systems on a schedule that is, at best, difficult to predict. They don't deal with any major government, preferring to contact individuals within the power structures of places such as Omega. From what we do know, they look to gather seemingly unimportant items or specimens, usually in exchange for their technology. And before you ask, Collector technology is definitely on par with the best the STG has to offer and can easily go toe-to-toe with Cerberus. A handful of individuals is a small bargaining chip for the ambition of certain warlords in the Terminus."

"Where do the Collectors go once the exchange is complete? Even on Omega, there are ways of tracking ships into the Terminus." Shepard observed.

Tapping his cigarette, the Illusive Man answered that question. "Once their transactions are complete, the Collectors vanish as quickly as they arrived, back from beyond the unmapped Omega-4 Relay. Up until now, there wasn't any evidence of direct aggression by the Collectors."

Paul made another observation. "I take it they're not willing to talk on a regular basis, especially not to Cerberus."

The Illusive Man confirmed that at once. "The Collectors aren't forthcoming about their motives to anyone, not even the ones doing their dirty work. They seek out species with rare genetic mutations or abnormalities, and then pay slaver groups and mercenaries exorbitant sums to obtain the specimens. Then they leave. They've never targeted a sole species before, and their previous sample sizes were in the dozens, not the hundreds of thousands."

Shepard felt an icy chill run through his bones. "How many colonies have vanished since 2183?"

The Illusive Man looked down and then back up, meeting Shepard's eyes. "20 colonies in total spread out over the edge of the Attican Traverse and the south edges of the Terminus. In terms of total population, more than 200,000 humans total, including Freedom's Progress."

"Any ideas on why the Collectors suddenly changed their focus to humans?" Paul asked, another chill running through his bones.

The Illusive Man shrugged his shoulders in his seated position. "If the Collectors are little more than agents for the Reapers, it could be for any number of reasons. Humanity played a pivotal role in Sovereign's destruction, and that probably did draw the attention of the Reapers." The Illusive Man voiced another concern, "What really worries me is why the Collectors are bothering to abduct the colonists. Once paralyzed, they could easily dispose of their organic charges."

Shepard nodded. "Is there much, if any, information available on the Omega-4 Relay?"

"Nothing factual. There are anecdotes by almost every race in the galaxy that a paradise exists on the far side of the relay, but what we know for a fact is that no ship that has ever traversed the Omega-4 Relay has returned. The Turians, Asari, and Salarians have been intrigued by it at points, and there are rumors of entire fleets going through the relay in the Sahrabarik system. None of those ships have ever returned."

"The only ones that have returned are the Collectors." Shepard said, a cool rush running down his spine.

The Illusive Man nodded again. "Exactly. If the Collectors are capable of manipulating the relays, that's just further evidence of their connection to the Reapers."

Paul asked, "I don't suppose there's any direct proof of the Reapers involvement, is there?"

"The patterns are all there, buried in the data. The Council and the Alliance would like nothing more than to believe the Reaper threat died with Sovereign. But you and I know better. We can't afford to wait until the Reapers are on the march. The fight must be taken to them, somehow." The Illusive Man stated firmly.

Shepard nodded. "We're facing a war, and while I hate waiting, I'm going to need an army to fight it. Or a really good team, like the one that I worked with on the Saren investigation."

The Illusive Man brought up a list of data on the console of his chair. "I've already gone to the trouble of compiling a list of soldiers, scientists, mercenaries. Master-level biotics, computer programmers, thieves..." He seemed to smile. "While finding and convincing them to work with you, and to trust you on top of that, might be a challenge, you are a natural leader. I'll continue to work on acquiring more data on the Collectors, their ship, and the Omega-4 Relay. When they make an appearance, I'll want you and your team to be ready."

"Your list sounds like it might be pretty damn comprehensive." Shepard said. "But what happened to my old team?"

"It has been two years, Shepard. With one exception, they've left the Alliance." The Illusive Man answered, a weary tone coming into his voice.

"Where's Dr. T'Soni?" Shepard asked.

The Illusive Man answered readily. "She's on Ilium. My sources indicate that she's become an extremely impressive information broker, and she's on the hunt for the Shadow Broker. She even helped us a while back, but it probably wouldn't have been her choice. She can tell you more if you end up meeting later."

Shepard decided to throw him a curveball. "What do you know about Tali? She was able to help us on Freedom's Progress. Do you know anything else?"

The Illusive Man responded honestly, and Shepard knew he'd gotten at least one past him. "That was unexpected. Our intel feeds in the Quarian Migrant Fleet are minimal at best, and I'll have to wait before I can commit to that."

"What happened to Kaidan Alenko?" Shepard asked.

"He's still with the Alliance; promoted, I believe. His file is extensively classified." The Illusive Man replied.

"What of Garrus Vakarian? Did he end up going back to the Citadel?" Paul inquired. _I remember advising him to go back to C-Sec, but I have no idea now what he ended up doing..._

"The turian disappeared about a few months after you were declared dead. Even our best haven't been able to locate him aboard the Citadel."

"What happened to Urdnot Wrex? He left the Normandy before it was destroyed." Shepard remembered that part. Wrex's departure had been a kick in the gut to the entire team, but maybe the Krogan battlemaster had a point to leaving when he did...

"He returned to his homeworld and hasn't left Tuchanka in well over a year. Our intel says he's trying to unite the krogan clans."

"I understand. They aren't available." Shepard said after a moment, stiffening his posture.

"You're a leader, Shepard. You'll get who you need."

"Well, I was humanity's first Spectre. Maybe the Council will be willing to help out."

The Illusive Man was smiling, damnit! "If you think you can convince them, by all means. Just remember, you've been gone over two years. Things have changed."

"You get the intel we need to take on the Collectors. I'll make damn sure my team is ready." Paul responded.

The Illusive Man raised his dormant cigarette to his lips and rekindled the glowing end. "Good. There are two things before you go: First, head to Omega and find Mordin Solus. He's a brilliant salarian scientist, and our intelligence suggests he may know how to counteract the Collectors and their paralyzing seeker swarms."

Paul nodded. "An excellent suggestion. What's the second thing?"

The Illusive Man continued. "I've found a pilot I think you might like. I hear that he's one of the best...and someone that you can trust." He tapped a command on his console, immediately terminating the communication.

A very familiar voice said behind Shepard, "Hey, Commander. Just like old times, huh?"

* * *

[LOCATION REDACTED, OBSERVATION DECKS]

"I can't believe it's really you, Joker!" Shepard said with a warm smile.

"Look who's talking. I saw you get spaced, Shepard!" Joker retorted with a half-hearted smile.

"Got lucky...with enough strings attached to make me a marionette. How did you get here?"

Joker shook his head somberly after a moment. "Everything fell apart without you, Commander. You were the driving force behind it all, and with you gone, the Council dismissed...everything. Team got broken up, records were sealed, and I got grounded." He shook his head angrily. "The Alliance took away one of the few things that really mattered to me. Heck yeah I joined Cerberus."

"Do you really trust the Illusive Man?" Shepard asked cautiously.

Joker shrugged it off. "Ah, I don't trust anyone who makes more than I do. But they can't all be bad. Saved your life...let me fly again...and then there's this." They approached a vast, dark observation area. He whispered, "They only told me about this yesterday."

The dark area beyond was illuminated very gradually, one panel of lights at a time. A shining vessel began to gleam as light after light came on inside the hangar. Shepard's eyes widened as he beheld a starship that looked very much like his first ever command...

"It's good to be home, huh, Commander?"

Shepard smiled. "I guess we'll have to give her a name."

* * *

[LOCATION REDACTED, HANGAR]

The cavernous doors slid apart and the loading ramps retracted. The glimmering starship slowly readied for action, her running lights blazing away as the vessel prepared for departure. In the days since Shepard's return from Freedom's Progress, Cerberus engineers had worked almost nonstop to ready the ship for action. As soon as Paul Shepard had given the ship her name, they had worked even harder to get her operational and had painted the name on by hand (as well as several Cerberus logos, but Shepard knew those would be coming off at some point in the future).

On the command deck, Paul Shepard stood behind Joker, waiting for the massive hangar doors to slide apart completely. "We have departure clearance, Commander. What are your orders?"

"Ahead one half impulse power." Shepard said, pointing his arm at the stars beyond. "Make it so."

Joker's eyebrows instantly raised, but he complied with a wry smile. "Ahead one half impulse power, Commander; what course once we leave dock?" The stars began to move through the viewports.

Shepard remembered the files and had a very good idea of who he wanted for their first recruit. "Lay in a course for the Serpent Nebula, the Widow System. We've got an old friend to check up on, and the first of our recruits to retrieve."

"Acknowledged, Commander." Joker responded. "Course has been laid in, all hands, stand by for FTL transit. We'll reach the mass relay in an hour and arrive at the Citadel not too long afterwards."

Shepard braced himself as the SSV Normandy SR-2 hurtled across the stars and into deep space, leaving the hidden Cerberus facility behind. No sooner had the Normandy departed than Cerberus began to dismantle the entire facility from the top down. In three days, the base and any evidence it had ever existed would be gone.

* * *

MISSION SUMMARY

Collectors confirmed as source of attacks on Freedom's Progress.

Quarian survivor Veetor'Nara returned with Tali'Zorah to the Migrant Fleet. Will examine his omni-tool data for anything useful.

* * *

SSV Normandy SR-2, July 28th, 2185

"Welcome to the new Normandy, Commander." Jacob Taylor said as Miranda, Shepard, and he walked back from the bridge to the rest of the command deck. Unlike the majority of the Normandy's crew, Shepard wore a simple science uniform. It had orange placards on the shoulders, but not one Cerberus logo or indication that he was affiliated with the organization in any way. The CIC and galaxy map hung in the back of the room with command consoles on either side. A pretty human woman stood at the console to the right of the galaxy map while the one to the left was vacant.

"I'd strongly recommend starting by acquiring the salarian scientist on Omega, Mordin Solus." Miranda said as soon as they'd entered the CIC. Shepard leaned back against the bulkhead of the command deck and nodded.

"Without any countermeasure, we'd be just as vulnerable against the seeker swarms." Shepard said.

"Acquiring Professor Solus seems like a logical place to start." A mechanical female voice said, unprompted.

"Who are you?" Shepard demanded, turning around to the source of the voice. Immediately, a small ball bearing surrounded by a ring appeared out of a projector on the bulkhead.

"I am the Normandy's artificial intelligence. The crew like to refer to me as EDI."

"Turn that thing off." Shepard snapped. "I don't want anything like that on my ship."

"Have I offended?" EDI asked politely.

Miranda placed one arm on her thigh and explained, "Shepard spent most of his career fighting rogue AI; geth mostly, along with that nasty incident with the Alliance's "Hannibal" program on Luna."

"Your mistrust is well-placed, Shepard, unlike that of most organics. My purpose is to observe and offer analysis, nothing more." EDI's 'body' vanished.

"Analysis, huh?" EDI reappeared. "EDI, can you casually access Alliance and Council databases and see what, if anything, they have on the Reapers or Collectors?"

"Of course, Shepard. Search in progress..." The multiple blue pixels that made up EDI's body began spinning at a dizzying rate. "Results complete. The Alliance has formally denied any existence of the Reapers, and their information on the Collectors is limited." EDI responded. "The Council makes no recognition of the Reapers at all, not since a memorial service honoring those who died in Sovereign's attack in August 2183."

Shepard sighed. _The more things change, the more they stay the same._ "Miranda, I may need your help with something before we arrive in the Widow System..."

She nodded. "Jacob and I will return to our posts for now, but I'll be back in less than 5 minutes to help out. What for, Commander?"

"It seems the Council has backslid on the greatest menace to face all of civilization." Shepard said with an icy stare on his face. "And we're going to set the record straight. I'm going to need Alliance gun cameras of Sovereign, footage from the first Normandy, anything EDI can get, I want." He turned to the galaxy map and then turned back to Miranda.

"What if they won't receive you?" Miranda decided to play devil's advocate.

"It's not their choice." Shepard said coldly. "The men and women who gave their lives fighting to save the Citadel in 2183 deserve better conduct from their leaders than this."

"Understood, Commander." Miranda said, walking back to the elevator. "I'll just be a moment."

In the meantime, Shepard decided to check out the vacant console near the galaxy map, and was pleasantly surprised when the human woman offered, "Welcome aboard, Commander." Shepard walked over to find out more. The woman turned to him. "I'm Yeoman Kelly Chambers. I've been assigned as your administrative assistant. I'll manage your messages and help you monitor the crew. And I must say, it's an honor to work under you, Commander Shepard." Yeoman Chambers offered with a sweet smile.

"I'm glad to have you on the team, Ms. Chambers." Paul responded with a ready smile.

"Please, call me Kelly." Chambers offered.

"All right then. Kelly it is." Shepard extended his right hand, and Kelly shook it firmly.

"Can I help you with anything else?" Kelly inquired politely.

"I imagine that you had to reactivate my old e-mail. Do I have any recent messages?" Shepard asked.

Kelly nodded. "Yes, and in fact, you just received one from Councilor Anderson about a day ago."

Paul nodded. "That'll be all for now, Kelly."

"Of course, Commander. Maybe we'll talk later." Shepard had to stifle a smile as he walked over to the vacant console.

The e-mail from Anderson was short but Shepard already got a lot of pause from it.

_ On the off chance that the rumors are true, and you actually are alive, I need you to come and talk to me on the Citadel. A lot has changed in the last two years. You put humanity on the Council, and it's only fair that you be allowed to speak for yourself about what we've been hearing._

_ Anderson_

Shepard had to keep a small smile from coming across his face at the moment. _The sooner I meet with Anderson, the better._

* * *

Serpent Nebula, Widow System  
JULY 29th, 2185

The Citadel never truly seemed to change, Paul thought as Joker nimbly brought the Normandy in for dock. The Citadel fleet was more built up now than it had been before Sovereign's attack. The Destiny Ascension wasn't on the scene, but it was likely up to something more important than just guard duty, Paul surmised.

One annoyance was that the new Normandy SR-2 wasn't part of the Alliance. That little change resulted in the SR-2 getting routed to a commercial dock. Shepard hoped he could quickly change that state of affairs.

The docking ramps extended, the Normandy SR-2 came to a halt, and Shepard headed out, with Miranda and Jacob at his back. No sooner had they arrived than a voice from one of a dozen advertising stations called Shepard by name. "Commander Shepard, enter the password and receive a free gift!" A hooded woman with an advanced optical interface stood out from the other advertisements, and Shepard walked to this one.

"This is our contact?" Shepard asked Miranda, who nodded curtly.

"Silence is golden." Shepard offered.

"Good to finally meet you, Commander Shepard." The woman answered. "Kasumi Goto. I'm a fan."

Shepard nodded. "Has Cerberus filled you in on the mission details?"

Kasumi gave him a wry smile. "Honestly, I'm shocked they didn't come to see me sooner. Guess that's my fault for being hard to find."

"What's with the password and the sneaking around? Are you in some kind of trouble?" Shepard asked.

"I'm the _best_ thief in the business, not the most famous." Kasumi responded. "I need to keep sharp and watch my step if I'm going to keep it that way. I also needed to make sure that this was legit, but I have no doubts now. You're the real Commander Shepard."

"What makes you so sure?" Shepard folded his arms and leaned back, waiting for an explanation.

"There's a certain aura about you. You've seen things that no one else has. Even without knowing what you look like, I knew it was you." Kasumi replied.

Paul asked, "What brought you to Cerberus?"

Kasumi explained. "That's a bit of a story. Short version: they were looking for me, so I trailed them to find out why. Turns out they were looking for someone to join you on an important...and were offering a serious signing bonus. I needed a thing I needed help with, so I made a deal. And here we are."

Shepard gave a pointed look at Miranda. "I assume this 'deal' is something I should know about?"

Before Miranda could answer, Kasumi said flippantly, "Yeah, I guess it slipped their minds. I'm looking for my old partner's graybox. A man named Donovan Hock took it, and I'm going to get it back."

"What's this heist you're planning?" Paul inquired.

"I can't discuss that yet, at least, not right here, Shepard." Kasumi answered warily. "I still need time to nail down all the details. But don't worry; you'll get a full briefing once I've got them all down. I've taken the liberty of getting you some evening wear, though." Kasumi added with a smile. "You'll want to look presentable."

Shepard decided to ask, "What do you know about Donovan Hock?"

"Mr. Hock is a well-respected businessman: arms dealer, murderer, generally not a great guy. His mansion's famous for being hard to crack, but I've got a way in...and I think you're going to love it."

"Something tells me Hock's not the kind of guy who takes kindly to people breaking into his lavish mansion..." Shepard suggested.

"I always expect trouble." Kasumi responded. "That's why you're here."

"I'd be glad to help you, Kasumi." Shepard said finally. "If that's what Cerberus promised you, than that's I'll get done."

"It'll be fun." Kasumi said. "And if we're lucky, you won't even have to draw your gun." Suddenly, the advertisement folded up and vanished into the floor. "We should probably wrap this up, then." Kasumi said from overhead, standing on a catwalk over the observation area. She gave him a confident smile. "You look a little silly standing there talking to an advertisement. See you on the ship, Shepard." She turned down the catwalk and suddenly vanished into thin air.

"Now what?" Jacob asked. "I doubt she'll just be able to walk into the Normandy."

"You're wrong." Miranda answered. "Her file indicates that she walked into at least two Cerberus facilities in the past six months alone. The last time, she practically sauntered past the personnel who were allegedly guarding the place with no questions asked."

Paul gave Miranda a glance. "She's extremely good at her job, but if you don't want her to feel like she's not welcome..."

Miranda nodded wearily. "I'll give her entry clearance, but I'm going to take safeguards with the bulk of the systems."

"Noted." Shepard said. "We'll make sure she doesn't get in your hair in the meantime."

Miranda looked at him testily for a moment, before realizing it would be better to bring that up later. "The data you wanted is on your omni-tool, Commander. Good luck trying to convince the Council to do the right thing."

"The worst that can happen is that they take petty revenge for when I hung up on them two years ago." Shepard said with a tart smile. "But I'll tell you about that once we get back." Miranda saluted quickly and walked away down the ramp, back to the Normandy.

Kasumi suddenly strode up, almost from nowhere. "Ready to go, Commander Shepard." She announced.

Shepard nodded. "Move out."

* * *

**Kasumi Goto**

- Master of stealth and infiltration  
- Skilled hacker and information specialist  
- Operates completely off the grid  
- No criminal record

Kasumi Goto is not the most famous thief in the galaxy - she's the best. Trained in the arts of stealth and infiltration, she has "acquired" artifacts and information from all over the galaxy and yet maintains a completely clean criminal record.


	7. Chapter 7: The Citadel Council

CITADEL, July 29th, 2185

Shepard, Kasumi, and Jacob approached the first entry to the Citadel Wards, specifically, Zakera Ward. From the publicly available files, Zakera Ward was one of the wards more populated by humans compared to other areas. Much to his annoyance, the first time Shepard approached a rapid transit console, it announced that his Spectre clearance had been revoked. Paul sighed angrily. _Yet another thing to sort out...what a pain in the ass._

The first security checkpoint was at the end of the first hallway, and Shepard walked confidently until he saw a scanner run up and down his body. A siren suddenly wailed once, and Kasumi hastily said, "I swear to God I didn't touch anything!" Shepard rolled his eyes.

The turian manning the checkpoint console spoke into his radio. "Shut it down." After a brief reply, he reacted with disbelief. "What? Do you seriously think...yeah, okay." He turned off his radio and politely turned to Paul Shepard. "Sorry for the inconvenience, sir. Our scanners are picking up false readings. They seem to think you're ah...dead." His voice trailed off and he shrugged his arms helplessly, as if there were no better way of stating the issue.

"I was only mostly dead." Shepard replied with a frosty smile. "Try finding THAT option on government paperwork."

The turian laughed uneasily. "Hah. Would you mind checking in with Captain Bailey? He can go through the necessary measures to get you reinstated in our system. He's just past the scanners in the office to the right."

As they passed through the checkpoint, they heard a gruff human voice say, "You'll have to make him scream a little: he's not going to tell you everything just because you ask!"

"I know sir." A polite human woman replied.

"If you haven't got the stomach or you're worried about being reported, I'll take care of it." The man, wearing a C-Sec captain's uniform, responded. Shepard surmised that his was Captain Bailey.

"No sir! I can handle it."

"Yes?" The man said lazily as Paul approached, before looking up. "Ah, I see the problem already, Commander Shepard. My console says you're dead."

"You aren't worried I'm some imposter claiming to be me?" Shepard asked drily.

Bailey smiled loosely. "We've got the best scanning equipment in the galaxy in that hallway. They can sample DNA from long-lost skin flakes. Hell, if you have unregistered gene mods, they can even figure those out."

"Your sergeant said you might be able to help with that." Paul said firmly.

Bailey nodded. "Usually, you'd have to go through the Station Security Administration to reactivate your IDs. Then to Customs and Immigration to regain access to the Citadel itself, and probably a stop by the treasury. "Spending a year dead" is a pretty popular tax dodge." Bailey finished wearily. Shepard nodded. "But I can see you're a busy man. So how about I just press this button right here and we'll call it done?"

"You're not big on formalities, are you?" Paul asked with a half-smile.

"I'm with them right up until they keep people from doing their jobs." Bailey responded calmly, pressing a set of commands. "There, I just saved you about nine days of running around. With that said, you should head up to the Presidium and tell the Council you're still alive. They probably want to talk to the person who saved their scaly asses two years ago." Bailey said with a hint of annoyance.

"I will." Shepard responded. "Having access to both the Council and Spectre resources would be useful."

"Yeah." Bailey said. "The Council can get just about anything; the best thing about working C-Sec is that any equipment, information or money that you need, you get. Anyway...something else you need? Or can I get back to work?" Bailey asked.

"I should go." Shepard announced on the spot. Kasumi practically doubled over behind him in laughter.

Captain Bailey nodded slightly. "If you need anything else, let me know."

Shepard turned to Kasumi. "What?!"

"Oh, Shep, you're going to need to drop that declarative statement if that heist is going to go smoothly at all." Kasumi said, chuckling a little.

Shepard rolled his eyes. "Let's get to the Council. With rapid transit reauthorized, that won't be much of a problem."

"Shepard, I hope you know I can hack an aircar in ten seconds flat..." Kasumi said, almost a little insulted.

"I know." Shepard responded. "But that would have been too much fun."

* * *

PRESIDIUM

Asari Councilor Tevos looked most irritable at the moment. "This meeting would be more productive if Udina were to join us."

Councilor Anderson turned to her and said calmly, collectedly, "My advisor is unavailable. As Councilor, I represent the voice of humanity and the Alliance. Shepard will be here at any..." Anderson turned to Shepard and greeted his old executive officer warmly. "Oh, Commander! Glad you could show up. We were just talking about you."

Shepard shook Anderson's hand warmly. "It's been a long time, Anderson. I hope the last couple of years have treated you well."

Anderson shrugged slightly. "I've had some rough spots. It's good to have you back, though."

Salarian Councilor Valern, who'd been sitting in his chair most irritably in the meantime, piped up. "We've heard many rumors surrounding your unexpected return, Commander. Some of them are...unsettling."

Tevos spoke, "We called this meeting so you could explain your actions, Shepard. We owe you that much; you saved our lives in the battle against Saren and his geth."

Paul had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. "Saren wasn't the one commanding the geth. I'd hoped you realized that by now. It was the Reaper, Sovereign."

Councilor Sparatus of the Turian Hierarchy spoke up disgustedly, "Ah yes, 'Reapers', the immortal race of sentient starships allegedly waiting in dark space. We have dismissed that claim!" Sparatus threw in an equally condescending toss of the wrist.

"You dismiss that which nearly destroyed you, then." Shepard said, not a hint of anger coming into his voice. "I suppose the proud turian flagship was rammed and utterly destroyed by a geth destroyer escort, then?"

"Shepard!" Sparatus's voice rose in anger.

Shepard ignored him. "Seeing as the Turians claim to have the most powerful fleet in the galaxy, maybe they should send an expedition to the Pangaea Expanse and take a good long look at the remains of Vigil. Only...they won't, because they're 'afraid of pissing off the Terminus Systems'." Shepard stared impassively at Councilor Sparatus. "Look, you trotted out that line when you refused point-blank to try and stop Saren. It was ridiculous then and now. I hope you remember that if it wasn't for the sacrifices of the human fleet, all three of you would be dead." Shepard transfixed Valern, who had been utterly unsupportive, with an icy glare. "Suffice it to say we would _not_ be having this conversation now."

Councilor Tevos facepalmed, but Shepard couldn't tell who her annoyance was reserved for: Valern or Sparatus. She spoke up, "Saren was a compelling and charismatic individual, Shepard, and he was able to convince the geth that the Reapers exist...and he was able to convince you."

Shepard shook his head again. "I shouldn't have to convince you of this. But I will, anyway." He brought out his omni-tool and a display popped up. He drew more power to the display to make it larger, the screen's detail more broad. The images on the omni-tool's screen were of utter horror; Sovereign, rampaging through the turian fleet from not just one angle, but multiple angles. A gun camera from the Destiny Ascension focusing on Sovereign ramming the turian flagship. Another gun camera angle, this one from an Alliance dreadnought as it passed by the now-rescued Destiny Ascension, just as the Citadel's arms opened. Sovereign again, blasting another Alliance dreadnought from stem to stern with a single hit. Shepard closed the omni-tool screen and stared at the now horrified Councilors.

Sparatus's mandibles opened and closed a dozen times inside of a few seconds. "Where did you get that footage?"

Shepard's face was inscrutable as he replied. "It doesn't matter where I got the footage, Councilor. You know damn well it was a turian gun camera, but you've hid this footage for the past two years. You've done nothing to prepare." He turned his back on them and faced Anderson, his face still emotionless. He shrugged to his old friend. "It appears I was wrong when I kept Saren from conquering the Citadel and I sacrificed human lives to save this council."

"WAIT!" Councilor Tevos called out suddenly, causing Shepard to whirl on his heel and walk back to her.

"If you have something to say, then say it, Councilor." Shepard replied, fire in his voice.

"We are in a very difficult position, Shepard. You are working for Cerberus, a known enemy of the Council-" Tevos was cut off.

"No. I am not." Shepard responded evenly. "There's no proof to that accusation beyond hearsay, and that's far from admissible in a court of law." Jacob pointedly said nothing from the back of the lounge area. Shepard shook his head, showing the first signs of outward anger. "Stop making excuses to delay from the facts, Councilors. Either you make a token effort to help me, or I walk out right here, right now." He turned from Tevos to Sparatus and gave the arrogant turian another glare. Sparatus shifted in his seat.

"There is another alternative." Valern said wearily.

"Given your alleged ties, we can't offer a public acknowledgment..." Sparatus practically tripped over himself continuing from Valern's offer.

Tevos was just as eager to pipe in again. "We can issue periphery support. Nowhere near as much in the way of finances as you were given during the hunt for Saren..."

Sparatus looked very unhappily at Shepard. "Commander, if you keep a low profile and restrict your activities to the Attican Traverse and Terminus Systems, the Council would be willing to offer you reinstatement as a Spectre."

Shepard asked bluntly, "What does that mean? Will I need to start filing reports?"

Valern shook his head. "That will not be necessary."

Tevos cut him off. "Consider this as a show of good faith on our part."

"I accept your offer." Shepard answered more quickly than any of the Councilors had expected. "And I'm going to do more than that. I'll send reports regarding the Collectors, and, once they put me on the trail, the Reapers." He smiled frostily at Sparatus. "You can deny their existence all you like. That didn't stop one of them from dancing on the roof of the Citadel and killing hundreds of thousands of civilians last time."

Before Sparatus could retort, Tevos offered, "Good luck with your investigation, Shepard. We hope for a quick resolution...and a hasty end to your relationship with Cerberus." She strode out of the room, practically running as fast as her shoes could carry her. Valern followed her, nodding slightly to Anderson, while Sparatus said nothing and looked fit to burst.

"Well, that went better...and worse...than I'd expected." Anderson shrugged.

"I'm a Spectre again, but this time feels different." Shepard said quietly. "I don't suppose the Alliance has decided to be as generous as the Council, have they?"

Anderson strode to the window overlooking the rest of the Presidium and shook his head wearily. "To be fair, they have not. The rumors that you've been working for Cerberus haven't helped any. I'm...sorry. I've got one of my staff lobbying hard for your eventual reinstatement, but..."

"It's not your fault at all, Anderson." Shepard replied, taking up a position next to his old friend. "I'll have to give Admiral Hackett a call one of these days and spell out exactly where my loyalties lie. Working with Cerberus certainly isn't my choice, and the second the Alliance wants me back, I'm back."

Anderson nodded, accepting that answer. "You do realize the Council's offer is just symbolic. They won't actually be doing too much to help you."

"Then I need you to help me more than ever, Anderson." Shepard said quietly. "The footage I showed the Council is getting broadcast on Palaven next week..."

Anderson looked taken aback. "You really do want to keep the pressure on Sparatus."

"Exactly." Shepard nodded. "He's a pompous ass all the same, but he's not a complete moron. He looked about ready to fold like a sack of hammers after he saw that turian gun camera footage. If the Primarch of Palaven puts pressure on him, Sparatus will either get thrown out of office by not responding, or forced to concede that there might be more where Sovereign came from."

"The Primarch will have no choice but to open military channels on some level." Anderson replied, a smile coming to his face. "And Hackett will appreciate any new channels from the Turian military."

"On top of that, well..." Shepard sighed. "There's no real need to burn my bridges at this point with the Council. I tried not to lose my temper with them..."

"True enough." Anderson responded. "Don't worry about the Council; I'll keep both them and the Alliance off your back. That won't be too hard as long as you restrict your operations to the Terminus Systems."

The door to Anderson's office opened and Udina strode in like he owned the place. Shepard rolled his eyes as Udina barked, "Anderson! We need to talk about-" He caught sight of Paul. "Commander Shepard?! What are you doing here?" His eyes narrowed.

"I've got a long line of people I didn't want to see, Udina, and your name is right at the top." Shepard replied scathingly.

"The feeling is mutual, believe me. Your return is a bureaucratic nightmare for us!" Udina's voice was once again from 0 to outburst in roughly two seconds.

"I invited Shepard here to speak with the Council. We concluded our meeting about two minutes ago." Anderson supplied.

"You what? Councilor, do the words 'political shit-storm' mean anything to you?" Udina was incredulous.

"The Council reinstated my Spectre status. They're just happy I'm keeping out in the Terminus Systems." Shepard said courteously. _More courtesy than Udina deserves._

"Yes, I can see how that arrangement benefits both sides. But you really shouldn't have taken a step like this without consulting me first, Councilor..." Udina's voice picked up a nasty edge.

"I don't answer to you, _ambassador._" Anderson retaliated. "Maybe you should go back to your office and think about that."

"Of course. Good day to both of you." Udina rounded on his heel and stormed off.

Anderson shook his head. "Sorry about that. Udina's never gotten over the fact that I got the Council position instead of him. Sometimes I have to put him back in his place."

Shepard nodded. "That meeting would have gone a lot differently if I'd chosen him. I still haven't forgiven him for that illegal order yet. I wonder if he still remembers..." A thought ran across Shepard's mind. "If he's that much of a nuisance, why do you even bother keeping him around?"

"He's got his uses. And if you want something on the Citadel, he knows who can make it happen. Plus, he's always happy to attend all those diplomatic functions I can't be bothered with."

"How've the last couple of years treated you, Anderson?" Paul asked.

Anderson sighed. "To be honest, serving on the Council isn't how I'd planned to spend my twilight years. Sometimes, it feels like I'm just beating my head against a wall. Knowing the truth about Sovereign is brutal; its nightmare stuff. I can't blame the others for not believing it. But I have to remember how important this is, so I keep trying." A weary sigh later, he finished. "Fighting the good fight, right?" Shepard nodded.

"The fight's not against the Reapers yet, at least, not directly." Shepard said, staring out at the Presidium. "Jacob, would you mind telling the Councilor what we know?"

Jacob nodded. "The Collectors are abducting human colonists all along the edge of the Attican Traverse and Terminus Systems. Over 200,000 humans have gone missing and 20 colonies to date have gone silent. Still more might vanish before we get to the bottom of things. But we need any help we can get." Jacob added. Shepard nodded.

"I'm compiling a group of soldiers, scientists, and biotics." Shepard continued. "I was actually wondering if Kaidan might be available for this..."

"Probably not, Shepard." Anderson responded. "Lieutenant Alenko is on assignment in the Attican Traverse right now, and you know damn well how many difficulties he has with Cerberus."

"That's something I'll have to keep in mind, then." Shepard said wearily. "I'm not a fan of their work by any stretch of the imagination. Anderson, you read the reports from when I blew up those Cerberus installations on Binthu and Nepheron in 2183. If there were an alternative, especially an Alliance alternative..."

"I understand, Commander." Anderson said firmly. "When the Alliance asks for you, I'll be sure to send that request for help along."

"We have to get going, Anderson, but it was good seeing you again." Shepard said.

"Of course, Shepard. If you ever want to talk, my doors are always open. Just..." Shepard had his back turned but he listened to the rest of what Anderson had to say, "Just be careful with Cerberus. You can't trust them."

Shepard nodded, turned to offer Anderson a crisp salute, and left for the rapid transit terminal, Kasumi and Jacob following him.

* * *

PUBLIC TRANSIT

"You do know it's not easy to change the mind of a Turian, Commander?" Kasumi asked.

"I know. I had to try once. It was one of the worst experiences of my life." Shepard responded, thinking of Saren again.

"I made your job a little easier for you, though." Kasumi said, smiling. "The instant Councilor Sparatus activates his personal computer, a little toy I slipped aboard his omni-tool will hack his screensaver. He's going to seeing that turian gun camera footage from the battle of the Citadel for...oh, the next year or so."

Shepard smiled. "You've got a nasty streak, don't you?"

"It was the least I could do." Kasumi said with a shrug. "Besides, he's not stupid."

Jacob spoke up, "Commander, where do you stand on Cerberus?"

Shepard contemplated his answer and said, "Jacob, the organization that is financing our little operation has tried to kill me multiple times in the past. They didn't change overnight. I'll take the Illusive Man's mission advice, but I fully expect a dagger in the back one of these days if I follow them to the letter."

Jacob nodded. "They've been called terrorists before, and with good cause. That attack on the Migrant Fleet and some other incidents in the Styx Theta Cluster weren't exactly their crowning glory."

"For now, the Illusive Man has made a pretty sweet bribe, but that's what it is. When push comes to shove, I'll be ready, Jacob. You better be, too." Shepard said coolly.

"I will, Commander." Jacob answered. He changed the subject as the public shuttle began to slow down. "It's been years since I've been to the Citadel. It never really changes, no matter how long you're gone. It must be comforting to some people, I guess...living in denial that all this could end."

Shepard nodded. "It's hard to believe that a single ship nearly reduced it all to rubble. I can't imagine how quickly they've had to work to repair the damage in some of the wards..."

* * *

ZAKERA WARD

The public transit shuttle from the Presidium to Zakera Ward came to a halt. Shepard, Kasumi, and Jacob stepped out, and the shuttle raced away to the next console. A dark-haired woman who Shepard recognized beckoned to the Commander. "The people want to hear your story, Shepard." She said soothingly.

Shepard rolled his eyes but couldn't resist for now. "Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani, Westerlund News." The woman offered a hand, but Shepard folded his arms and stepped back. "I interviewed you two years ago, when you first became a Spectre. You presented your case very well on camera. Do you have a minute?"

"Why, so you can try to do another smear job on me?" Shepard replied warily.

Khalisah raised a hand and offered a false smile. "Now, Shepard – you may object to my methods, but we're on the same side!" _Where have I heard THAT before?_ Paul thought.

The camera drone behind al-Jilani rose into the air and aimed at Shepard. Khalisah began, as usual, non-offensively. "Sources claim you were at the heart of the Presidium during the battle of the Citadel. It's fair to say the course of the battle hinged on your words." Kasumi hastily stepped out of the camera's field of vision from behind Shepard. "If true, you told Admiral Hackett to assist the Destiny Ascension, costing over three thousand human lives and securing the continued dominance of the Citadel Council."

Paul wanted to cut her off right in the middle of her damn report with a blow to the head. _You weren't there, Khalisah. You couldn't have known what was at stake._ He chose to meet her challenge with his own words. "The turians lost twenty cruisers and three dreadnoughts. Based on Alliance estimates, those cruisers had a crew of over 400, and the dreadnoughts had a crew complement of over two thousand. The Destiny Ascension, the Asari flagship that the Alliance Navy saved, had a crew of over 10,000."

"But surely the human cost..." Khalisah needled.

Paul wasn't having any of her crap. "The Alliance lost eight cruisers and two dreadnoughts. The cruisers Shenyang, Emden, Warsaw, Cape Town, Madrid, Seoul, Jakarta, and Cairo were destroyed with the bulk of their crews. The dreadnoughts Mont Blanc and Pyrenees went down with almost fifteen hundred lives between the two of them. Ms. Al-Jilani, I remember them all. The Alliance owes the survivors of the 5th Fleet and their captains a **lot** of medals for what they did. The Council owes them a hell of a lot more than that." Shepard stepped away and said tersely, "They deserve better than to be treated as a propaganda ploy. They deserve better than **you**." Shepard walked away from the camera, head shaking in barely-contained anger.

He made out Khalisah saying, "Commander Paul Shepard, the first human Spectre, hero of the Battle of the Citadel. Check vid. Did we get it? Fantastic. Bull-rushed on my own show."

Before he could think to go back to deck al-Jilani into the next star system, Jacob immediately grabbed one shoulder and helped him to a storefront. "You okay, Shepard? She threw a lot of shit at you..."

"You think that was bad?" Shepard said wearily. "Try explaining that tactical decision to the Alliance brass a week after the attack. Some of them were absolutely furious that I'd advised Hackett to save the Ascension."

"You made the right decision under the circumstances, Shepard." Jacob said with conviction. "That's what matters. As much as people complain now...I don't even want to think about where humanity would be if we'd let the Ascension burn."

Kasumi piped up. "You think there's any way things could be worse than they are now?"

"Please don't tempt the universe, guys." Shepard said irritably. "Let's get to some of these stores and get some new equipment for the mission. Then we leave this neon-overloaded, awful place for the Eagle Nebula. Hopefully before I get a migraine."

"Dr. Okeer?" Jacob asked. When Shepard nodded, Jacob smiled. At least he had a plan.


	8. Chapter 8: Korlus Preparations, SR2

NORMANDY SR-2, En route from Serpent Nebula to Eagle Nebula  
July 30th, 2185

Miranda, Kasumi, Jacob, and Shepard went over the results of their shopping trip in the communications room. Shepard tapped his fingers on the center console as he pondered one of the little gadgets in his fingers. "The merchant that Jacob bought this from claimed it could increase SMG velocity by up to 10 percent. No word on what that'll do as far as damage, but it's still useful until we get our little scientist."

Miranda looked uncomfortably at Jacob and then asked, "Why aren't we going to get Mordin Solus first, Commander?"

Paul Shepard's green eyes stared at her directly. "I've been to Omega before, Miranda. There's only the four of us who can really defend this ship, and three of us are going to that damned station when we get there." Before Miranda could protest, Shepard explained. "The bulletins on the Citadel all claim there's a particularly nasty plague on Omega. Chances are our scientist is working on a work-around for that plague, but until then..."

"Better safe than sorry." Jacob nodded. "Besides, we might need a tough customer or two in a place like that."

Miranda acquiesced. "All right, then. What else did we get?"

Kasumi smiled. "I met up with one of my old connections before you showed up. He was willing to part with a...device...in his possession...that I'd been going after for quite a while." She indicated it on the table. "It's a shield harness, and it's one of the best units available."

Shepard took it in and nodded, feeling the weight. "That N7 armor I have could probably integrate this. Is there any chance that everyone could benefit from this?"

Kasumi shook her head. "It's a single person unit for now. I imagine a scientist could expand the effects and come up with a viable work around..."

"But not now." Shepard finished. "What's our ETA to Korlus, Jacob?"

"Six hours out, Commander." Jacob answered. "What will the ground team look like?"

Shepard decided then. "Kasumi and Miranda, you'll come with me. Jacob, I want to make sure the Normandy doesn't attract any unwanted attention while we're on the surface. You'll stay aboard the ship."

"Yes, sir." Jacob answered.

"Did we get any other devices similar to that SMG upgrade?" Shepard asked.

Jacob nodded again. "I purchased one of these." He picked one of the devices up; it resembled an enlarged spent heat sink. "It's an ammunition upgrade for armor."

"How much of an upgrade over what we have is it, Jacob?" Shepard asked, folding his arms.

"It's an ammunition magazine upgrade, for everyone in the squad. It might not sound like much, but an extra few shots can be the difference between life and death."

Shepard brought up another upgrade, a set of ammunition cartridges. "It took some persuading and my Spectre status, but I was able to buy Disruptor ammunition pre-sets. Given how Okeer has Blue Suns near his location and they're known for shield spamming, they should help out."

Miranda brought up a package. "This is an experimental weapon that some Cerberus scientists encountered on the edge of the Skyllian Verge. It's called an Arc Projector. It should pack a punch against shielding and armor, but it's still in the experimental phases.

Shepard nodded in approval. "Good acquisitions, everyone. Hopefully we'll be able to get more on our next trip to the Citadel. Return to your stations for now; Miranda, Kasumi, be ready to go as soon as we arrive in-system."

"I'll be in my office." Miranda announced.

"Yeah, me too. I'll be in my office." Kasumi deadpanned. "Although since I don't have one, I'll just be in the observation lounge like I always am."

Miranda shook her head and walked out of the room disgustedly. Jacob saluted and left while Kasumi gave Shepard an acknowledging nod.

Shepard headed up to the Command Deck, smiling slightly. Kasumi was a rare individual. He liked her already.

"Commander, you've received a new message at your private terminal." Kelly announced as he walked up to his console. Paul decided to talk to the yeoman more in-depth. She turned to him and asked courteously, "How may I help you, Commander?"

"What do you think about our new arrival?" Shepard inquired.

"That Kasumi is an interesting addition to the crew." Kelly responded with a smile. "I can see why she's good at her work: she never reveals anything meaningful about herself. It'll be a challenge getting to know who she really is." Kelly said confidently.

"Sounds like you're up to that challenge, Yeoman." Shepard said with a small smile of his own. "Do you have a moment to talk?"

"I always have time for you, Commander." Kelly responded warmly.

Shepard nodded. "What are your responsibilities?"

"I'll keep your notified of any new messages or appointments that you might have. If any of the crew has important business to discuss, I'll make sure you know."

"Isn't that the kind of task more suited for a specialized VI?" Shepard asked.

Chambers nodded. "Yes, but being your yeoman is just my official role. Unofficially, I observe the crew. Everyone knows how risky our mission is, and not all of us may be coming back. That puts a lot of pressure on people. I have a degree in psychology, and I'm good at sensing when people are overly taxed."

"You make sure the crew's mental health is sound then." Shepard said. "That's a very good skill to have."

"Yes. I look for warning signs, and listen. It isn't a full-time job, and it's most effective when done informally."

"We're fortunate to have someone with your set of skills aboard, Kelly." Shepard said firmly.

"Thank you, Shepard." Kelly said with a brief inclination of her head. "What else would you like to talk about?"

"Cerberus has a dark reputation. Do you have any concerns working for them?"

"Not at all. There can be harsh methods, but Cerberus has noble objectives. We look out for human interests, advance human technology, save human lives! Those are good goals." Chambers was really trying the hard sell.

"It sounds like Cerberus wants to dominate all aliens and put humankind on top." Shepard said pessimistically. _I've had too much conflict with this damn organization to think any differently._

"Cerberus looks out for humanity, but that doesn't mean we hate aliens." Kelly responded defensively. "My sister opened a dog shelter, but she loved cats too." _Interesting analogy._ Paul thought. _Do you see aliens as nothing more than animals, too? That kind of thinking is what makes it impossible for me to trust Cerberus on anything at face value. _"I love humanity." Kelly stated firmly. "But I also love asari, turians, quarians, salarians, hanar...that isn't in conflict with Cerberus's ideals."

_I suppose not, right up until it's convenient for the Illusive Man to throw them under the bus._ Shepard thought sarcastically. Paul offered a diplomatic answer. "That's a very positive attitude to have, Kelly."

Kelly beamed. "What can I say? I'm a people person. Anything else you'd like to talk about?"

"What do you think of our mission?"

"I was handpicked by the Illusive Man to help in the fight against the greatest threat that humanity has ever faced. How do I feel about it? Honored, exhilarated, terrified. But mostly, I feel encouraged. Under your leadership, we can't fail."

Shepard nodded. "Don't worry. We will defeat the Collectors."

"I trust you implicitly." Kelly said firmly. Paul swore her eyes were transforming into little hearts on the spot, almost like in Japanese anime. "The moment I met you, I knew I could close my eyes, fall back, and you'd be there to catch me."

Shepard honestly wasn't too certain how to answer. _The one true love of my life is an asari. I'm not going to lead Kelly on, but on the other hand, if she trusted me that much without ever meeting me... _"Your trust is well-placed, Kelly." Paul offered.

"I knew it would be. Thank you, Shepard." Kelly said with a smile.

Shepard said, "That'll be all for now, yeoman. Let me know once we're 15 minutes out from Korlus. I'm going to be below-decks."

"Of course, Commander. It's always nice talking with you." Kelly turned to her duties with a smile that practically glowed.

* * *

NORMANDY SR-2, DECK 3

The medical bay practically drew Commander Shepard's attention as he made his way from the elevator. As he entered, he heard a couple of the Cerberus crewmen talking. "Come on, Chef's surprise again, Rupert?"

"I'm sorry, Princess Hawthorne." A man's voice testily answered. "Filet mignon and caviar, coming right up. Let me just get out my doilies."

"That's be real nice, Mr. Gardner." Hawthorne responded sarcastically.

Paul shook his head and made his way to the medbay. Was that who he thought it was in the viewport? No...it couldn't be...

"Commander Shepard." The visage of Dr. Karin Chakwas had not changed a day since Paul had last seen her in the Normandy's medbay. "I watched the Normandy crumble with you aboard. It's good to see you alive."

"It's nice to see a familiar face, Doctor." Shepard said with a genuine smile.

"I feel the same." Chakwas said, with a hint of sadness. "I wished more of the original crew could be here. The kind of trauma that you've endured would have changed most people...but not you. That much I can see. Welcome back, Shepard."

Shepard sat down across from her in the medbay. "Doctor...you've been with the Alliance military for years. What changed?"

Chakwas answered. "After the Normandy was lost, the surviving crew was reassigned. I was stationed at the Mars Naval Medical Center. It was a respectable post, to be certain, but it wasn't aboard a starship."

Shepard cracked a wry smile. "I take it you're not a fan of colonial military life?"

"Most of my career has been spent aboard warships, never knowing what the next mission might bring. I'm used to the hum of the main engines, the creaking of bulkheads, that subtle vertigo when the momentum dampeners kick in. Life planet-side is just too static. Too boring." Chakwas said with a wry twist of her lips.

"You're not the Cerberus type, Doctor." Shepard pointed out.

"I don't work for Cerberus." Chakwas responded with a hard edge in her voice. "I work for you, on a mission that may be crucial to the continued survival of the human race. I have every faith that your dealings with Cerberus will be ethical. I trust you, Commander."

"I appreciate that, Doctor." Shepard said, folding his arms over his lap. "I just wish that the rest of the Alliance shared that viewpoint."

"But they don't, do they?" Chakwas said helplessly. "You died. Cerberus brought you back, and that's apparently unacceptable to the Alliance. Your...scars...are the most visible indication...but they look like they're healing up."

"I fully trust that Cerberus will betray us someday, Doc." Shepard said coolly in a low voice. "And I'll be ready for it." He looked in a mirror. His face was coming together, and the orange scars were slowly getting smaller. _How does that even work?_ He asked inwardly. _I'll have to schedule an appointment with Chakwas after we get back from Korlus._

"Of course you will, Commander." Chakwas said with a knowing smile. "Woe be to the person who tries to yank you around, Shepard."

Shepard's expression became more somber. "With that being said, there's a very good chance this mission could go pear-shaped. Are you prepared for that?"

"I've been through the Reclaiming of Shanxi and the Skyllian Blitz. We survived the Battle of the Citadel together, and I lived through the destruction of the Normandy..." Chakwas's voice trailed off, as though there were no way of dodging the matter. Shepard waved it off; Chakwas wasn't going to offend him by mentioning that. "All told, I've lived a full life with no regrets. I'd like to make sure the crew gets the same opportunities."

Shepard nodded. Chakwas was the sort of selfless individual that the Alliance military called upon to deliver in the clutch time and time again, whether her charges were badly injured or on death's door, it never mattered to her. Karin was the consummate professional, a true credit to her field. Paul was happier than ever to have her aboard. "Do you have everything you need, Doctor Chakwas?" He asked.

"I believe so." She answered at first. "This medical bay seems very much like the sickbay on the original Normandy. The only thing missing are my private reserves." She seemed wistful. "I had a bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy I was saving for a special occasion."

Paul suggested, "The next time I had out to the Citadel, I'll keep my eye out for a replacement bottle."

"Oh, you needn't worry yourself about that." Chakwas said. "It's expensive, and we've got much larger concerns."

"I'll see you later, Doctor." Paul said.

"Commander." Chakwas turned back to her work as Shepard stood to his feet, leaving the medbay.

He walked across the main gallery and over to the Executive Officer's quarters. Miranda Lawson waited for him inside, typing up another report. She had four screens activated in different positions, and looked to be adding another addition to her latest file. She looked up at him. "Commander, what can I do for you?" She asked. None of the edge he had detected on the Cerberus station was present now. _Maybe she's easier to deal with when her boss isn't breathing down her neck. Or she's trying to suck up to me. Either way..._

"Do you have a minute to talk, Miranda?"

"No doubt you've got a lot of questions." Miranda said. "Cerberus isn't as evil as most people believe. If I can help allay any of your concerns, I'd be happy to do so. So...what would you like to know?"

"What can you tell me about the Illusive Man?" Shepard asked.

Miranda shrugged. "Not much that you don't already know. Even I don't have access to most of his background." _Sounds like a wonderful case of a domineering control freak._ Paul thought. "You've seen more of him than most people ever have. It's rare for him to take such a personal stake on a mission...but you're something special."

"I was special enough for him to spend about four billion credits and most of two years on." Shepard said glibly.

Miranda nodded, acknowledging that fact. "Whatever else most people might say about him, I can assure you he's got humanity's best interests at heart. That includes you and me."

Shepard decided to press her on that. "How can you be so certain of that? I mean, he's not the most forthcoming individual in the world, even to you..."

Miranda responded in a level-headed manner. "I didn't get to where I am right now without being able to gauge people's motivations and ambitions. Even from brief encounters."

"So...what do you see in me? I'm interested. You've read my files; you built me from the ground up." Shepard asked, "What do you see in my mannerisms?"

Miranda paused, not certain of how to respond. "You're guarded. Not nearly as much as the Illusive Man, though. You make a tactical decision and you expect it to be acted on. You don't clam up under fire and you don't hesitate in situations that would destroy other officers. You've never hesitated under fire, and those under your command see that. No one wants to disappoint you."

Shepard accepted that and nodded slightly. "Not bad for an off the cuff statement. Do my motivations still bother you?"

Miranda again hesitated before responding. "You don't believe in what Cerberus stands for."

"I don't believe in an organization that assassinates serving Alliance admirals. Or one that takes it upon itself to attack the Quarian Migrant Fleet...or unleashes Thorian creepers and rachni in the Attican Traverse, all because of some 'ends justify the means' garbage." The glare Paul directed at Miranda could have split a diamond in half. "Can you understand that laundry list of concerns?"

Miranda nodded warily. "The cell that killed Admiral Kahoku likely did so out of self-defense. If they'd bothered to contact the Illusive Man, he'd have advised against it. **I'd** have advised against it."

_Really?_ Paul thought. "What's the leap of logic that cell used to justify their actions, Ms. Lawson?"

Miranda said, tenting her fingers over the keyboard interface between her and Shepard. "The fact that Kahoku was able to get on their trail so quickly means that they screwed up. The cell got sloppy, and they probably thought eliminating Kahoku was the best option. If others in the Alliance brass found out from Kahoku..." She considered what to say, "If Kahoku had made a clean report to the brass, that cell wasn't going to remain a secret for long. Secrecy is often the best defense, Shepard. Look at this ship, for one."

"So because there was a reputable pursuer on the chase..." Paul mused aloud.

Miranda finished his sentence. "They panicked. They should never have tried that stunt with the Thresher Maw on Edolus to begin with. That was asking for a meteor to the face...and they got you to shut them down instead of the Illusive Man. I doubt they'd have lived very long either way." She sighed. "Shepard, what did you want out of this conversation?"

"I want to know that you aren't blindly loyal to an organization that has done things that absolutely no one should." Shepard responded. "I need to make sure that you aren't a cheerleader, blind to the whims of the man running the show. And you know what? You aren't." He looked out the window. "I'd really hate to try and pull a fast one over on you, Miranda." He responded with the merest ghost of a smile.

"I don't have much tolerance for being deceived." Miranda confirmed.

"And neither do I." Shepard answered. "So that's one thing we have in common."

"The Illusive Man is no saint, and he'd be the first to admit it. But he is committed to the cause. Humanity would have to work hard to find a more dedicated advocate." Miranda finished his question from earlier.

"What kind of resources does Cerberus have to command?" Paul asked. _I don't expect a completely honest answer._

"We're very well-funded, although I doubt anyone aside from the Illusive Man knows exactly how well. Our resources aren't unlimited: rebuilding you and constructing the Normandy were significant investments. And a significant risk as well...we're all hoping you can do the impossible, Shepard. No pressure."

As he got up to leave, Miranda stated, "Shepard...I don't think the cell that killed Admiral Kahoku was justified in the slightest." Paul looked her in the eyes, again. _You aren't just saying that because you're trying to win me over. You genuinely believe that._

Paul nodded. "You're too smart to ever believe something like that could end well, Miranda. That much is obvious." He said, "I came into this conversation needing to know that you're not some robot, blindly loyal to Cerberus's ideals. And again, you aren't. I'll talk to you later, Miranda." Shepard said with a courteous nod, leaving the office.

As he left, Miranda offered, "I'm here if you'd like to talk in the future, Commander, for whatever you need."

_That's good to know._ Paul thought. _At least you know she's not a robot anymore, right?_

He decided to head down to engineering next, but checked with EDI's console by the elevator first. "EDI, what's our ETA to Korlus?"

"Five hours, twenty minutes, Shepard."

"That's all for now."

"Logging you out, Shepard." EDI responded.

* * *

DECK 4, NORMANDY SR-2

"You came all the way down here just to see us?!" The male engineer spoke in a Scottish accent. He was almost stunned to see Commander Paul Shepard standing behind him.

The woman manning the console next to him gasped as well but hastily saluted. "You're speaking to our commanding officer!" She said fiercely.

"I'm touring the ship." Shepard said. "And trying to meet my crew."

The male engineer nodded. "I'm Engineer Ken Donnelly, handling the power relays and power transfer systems. This is Gabby."

"That's Engineer Gabriella Daniels, actually." She responded testily. "I'm in charge of the Normandy's propulsion systems."

"Anything we can do for you, Commander?" Ken asked.

Shepard nodded. "Where did you receive your training?"

Ken answered, "Both Gabby and I started in the Alliance, serving on the SSV Perugia."

Gabby picked up from there. "She flew in the first wave at the Battle of the Citadel. We saw Sovereign firsthand."

"Why did you leave the Perugia?" Paul asked, curious.

Ken's stance shifted as he replied, "After you died, Anderson lost a lot of political clout. The Council and the Alliance backslid on the Reaper menace."

Daniels continued. "They discounted Sovereign as an isolated threat, as a single-"

Ken cut her off, his face clouding with anger. "Which was bullshit! They said your warnings of a greater danger were mistaken or delusional."

Gabby nodded. "We lost respect for Alliance leadership. We felt we needed to fight the real enemy, and only Cerberus seemed to be doing that."

_At least someone was inclined to believe me on that call aside from Anderson, Wrex, and my old crew. _"Do you have everything you need down here?"

"I can't really complain." Kenneth started, "I just wish we didn't have to take so much time re-aligning the FBA arrays..."

"Kenneth, you're complaining." Gabby chided.

"What seems to be the problem with the system?" Paul asked. He was no tech, but Tali's descriptions of the old Normandy's systems certainly didn't include near-daily recalibrations of any system...

"When they upgraded the Normandy's design from the old SR-1, they got sloppy with the FBA couplings. I won't bore you with tech, but there are attenuators in the primary power transfer system that handle the field bleed-"

Shepard's eyes must have started to glaze over as Gabby cut in, "Ken, you're boring the Commander with tech! In short, if we had T6-FBA couplings, it would save us a lot of maintenance time each day."

"Why wasn't something like that installed already?" Shepard asked. _You'd think a more "corporate" organization like Cerberus would value every second their engineers have to spend on tasks like these..._

"It was probably a design oversight. The overall efficiency isn't affected; it's a maintenance issue." Gabby clarified.

Ken added, "Also the T6 design can be hard to find nowadays. Nashan Stellar Dynamics discontinued them."

"Do you have any idea where I could find some T6 couplings for you? I imagine you'd like to have more time devoted to more important things..." Shepard added.

"There are probably used ones in the Omega salvage yards." Gabby nodded. "But we have no time for shore leave."

"If I find any when we go to Omega, I'll be sure to get some for you." Shepard said. "Carry on."

"Will do, Commander." Ken responded. As Shepard left main engineering, he said, "I'm amazed Shepard came down here to see us!"

Gabby responded with a knowing, "I told you he would."

Shepard walked back to the elevator and notices something that he didn't expect; a pair of shuttles in the main cargo bay. He decided to look up the relevant information on those shuttles on a nearby console.

_The Systems Alliance UT-47 drop-shuttle landing craft holds up to 12 soldiers in the cargo bay and up to 4 more in the cockpit. Officially named the Kodiak, the drop-shuttle is better known to Alliance marines as the "combat cockroach" due to its appearance and durability._

_ The vehicle's robust environmental sealant technology exposes few vulnerable parts to the elements. First tested in the sulfuric acid and extreme temperatures of Venus, the Kodiak can land in hard vacuum, high pressure, and temperatures from near-absolute zero to over 900 degrees Celsius._

_ A true countergravitic vehicle, the Kodiak's substantial element zero core allows flight by entirely countering the vehicle's mass. The unarmed shuttle forgoes weaponry space for active masking electronic countermeasures, and a robust kinetic barrier system. It is ideal for landing troops undetected._

Shepard realized that there was one person aboard the Normandy he hadn't talked to since he'd come aboard. The person he had died to save from the original Normandy... He made his way up to the bridge at once.

* * *

NORMANDY SR-2, DECK 2

"Hey Commander, check this out! It's my baby, better than new! It fits me like a glove!" Shepard knew he'd made a wise choice by coming here. Joker was smiling enough that his teeth threatened to outshine the passing stars. "And leather seats..." His voice trailed off, not in disgust, but in awe. "Military may set the hardware standards, but on a first-gen frigate, they can care less if the seats breathe or not."

"Reproduction was not intended to be perfect, Mr. Moreau." EDI's voice informed him, almost a little angrily. "Seamless improvements were made."

Joker looked like he wanted to throw something through the viewport. "And then there's that. I liked the Normandy when she was new, and beautiful. Now she's got this thing I don't like to talk about. It's like ship cancer."

"This isn't the real Normandy, Joker. There's nothing here that was actually from the original Normandy." Shepard said sadly.

"Well, there's us. I'll take whatever plus I can get out of a situation: the last two years _sucked_ for me!" _Knowing Joker, I don't think that's much of a stretch at all. _"It'll be better than the old days, Shepard."

Paul rolled his eyes and said, "I hope so. I died."

"Gah, you are such a downer," Joker grumbled as he went back to monitoring his station. "I swear we picked up some lateral drift, too. The old Normandy never had that..."

Paul left Joker in peace to attend to his current tasks. He'd have to keep an eye on his friend.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

One of the things that bothered me in Mass Effect 2 was that you were blindly forced to work with Cerberus, and the Alliance proceeded to pitch you over the side. While Tali and Garrus make references to Cerberus's activities from the first game ("those sick experiments", "unleashing Thorian creepers and rachni"), you weren't given much of a choice and you never got the chance to call Cerberus out on the carpet for it. In addition, I found Shepard's incarceration at the beginning of Mass Effect 3 (and heavily implied after Mass Effect 2) is one of the greatest facepalm moments I have ever had in a video game.

I don't plan on veering too far from the established lore of the ME universe. I believe that realism is the name of the game; this is not a "feel-good" story. This is not "god-mode" Shepard with invincible weapons: his equipment is going to let him down from time to time and it's going to frustrate the hell out of him.

Given Miranda's earlier belief that she has to earn Shepard's trust (in Chapter 3), just as much as he has to earn hers...well, that's why I included the section on motivations smack in the middle of Shepard's first real talk with her. Do you approve? Disapprove? Let me know!


	9. Chapter 9: Dossier: The Warlord, Part 1

CODEX: Planets and Locations: Korlus

_Known as the starcraft cemetery, Korlus was the regional toxic junk yard for centuries. Ships reaching astronautical "near-death" at connecting mass relays were sent to Korlus, stripped of every useful component, then dumped planetward to clear shipping lanes._

_Currently Korlus hosts numerous merc factions such as the Blue Suns, rumored to be using downed ship fossils to test advanced munitions. Massive gun batteries threaten anyone attempting planetfall, with minimal defenses against ground attack._

_Because ancient volcanism greenhoused the planet, Korlus was too hot and CO2-rich to develop a biosphere, despite the abundant lakes that could have sponsored the development of life._

_Now cool enough for protected habitation, but too scorching for anyone but extremophiles and mercenaries seeking secrecy, Korlus supports numerous krogan outposts. The krogan have therefore seeded Korlus with hardy varren, often kept as war hounds. Varren live primarily on a diet of geophagous vermin and each other._

* * *

DOSSIER: The Warlord

Dr. Okeer

Millenia of combat and strategic experience  
Rumored familiarity with Collector technology

A brilliant, brutal krogan warlord and veteran of the Krogan Rebellions, Okeer is obsessed with saving the krogan from the genophage. It appears he contacted the Collectors to gain the necessary technology. Currently at a Blue Suns camp on Korlus, his relationship with the mercenaries is unknown.

* * *

EAGLE NEBULA, IMIR SYSTEM, KORLUS

The UT-47 "Kodiak" drop shuttle raced over the multitude of destroyed and dying warships that were practically caked across Korlus's surface. Shepard, Miranda, and Kasumi readied their weapons and prepared for a hot landing, where the shuttle would only hang around long enough to see them off and then hurry back to the Normandy.

"The Dossier doesn't say whether Okeer is here by choice. Assume hostiles." Shepard said.

"There is only one measure of success! Kill or be killed! Perfection is your goal!" A woman's voice barked over an old, tarnished loudspeaker set.

"Broadcasting orders over loudspeaker? Charming." Miranda rolled her eyes.

"Stay focused. We're looking for a krogan warlord." Shepard instructed.

The field ahead of the landing zone was scattered with cargo containers, old masonry from decayed or long-since-dead starships, and junk. Shepard made out the unmistakable crackle of distant artillery fire, some 20 to 30 miles away.

"Being hired is merely the beginning. You must earn your place in the mighty army we are building." The same woman proclaimed melodramatically. Shepard rolled his eyes this time.

"Lookout post ahead." Kasumi warned from her flank position as they came around a corner.. "And they're ready for us."

"They've got shields." Paul cautioned. "Miranda, soften them up."

"I can hit them from behind." Kasumi offered.

"How, tactical cloak and stab them in the back?" Shepard's flippant offer was answered by a very genuine Kasumi smile.

"Exactly." Kasumi said with a thumbs-up. "Have you seen me do that before?"

"Then let's do that. Go." Miranda moved first to a virtual maze of old I-beams and girders, activating her omni-tool and launching an attack as she moved in one fluid motion. Kasumi suddenly vanished from where she had been standing behind Shepard, and Paul sprinted to cover.

The Blue Suns mercenaries didn't expect one of their own to suddenly hit the deck, a tanto spearing him in the back. Ksaumi hadn't even made a sound, and one of the four Blue Suns guards as already down. _Nice work._ Paul thought as he readied his M-23 Katana and opened fire from range, not so much for effectiveness as to provide Miranda with covering fire and Kasumi with a lane to withdraw to SMG range. Miranda immediately set about pinning down the remaining Blue Suns with blisteringly accurate fire from her M-5 pistol. Shepard remembered the ability he had tapped into on Freedom's Progress just as Miranda took out the shields of the last guard. Shepard blasted across the field of fire and slammed into the Blue Sun with enough force to send the man flying backwards. His leg flopped painfully as he landed against a column.

Shepard approached him, pistol at the ready.

"Shit, shit...it won't stop bleeding...I'm gonna...son of a bitch."

"Doesn't look that bad, actually." Miranda said caustically.

"He doesn't need to know that." Paul responded.

"I knew it wasn't berserkers! Not at range...you're mercs. Or Alliance. I'm not...I'm not telling you anything." The man bit out from his awkward position.

"I've got a nice application of medi-gel ready to go. But if you'd rather I just keep walking..."

"Son of a...I just...I don't know anything. I just shoot the overflow from the labs. The old krogan is really cleaning house over there. Jedore hired him to make her an army, but the krogan he creates are insane, so we use them for live ammo training. It's all crap, I don't get paid enough to goddamn bleed out!" The wounded Blue Sun whined.

"Outpost Four? Jedore wants us to move. We need coordinates on that last krogan pack." An agitated voice said over the radio.

"What's he talking about?" Paul asked, his face inscrutable.

The Blue Sun was confused, but answered as best he could. "Um...Jedore runs a Blue Suns outlier, and she's making krogan for an army. But they all turn out crazy...tough as hell, but just insane."

"Why go to all the trouble?" Kasumi observed. "It would be cheaper to get tons of guns..."

"I don't know, I just point, shoot, and bank my credits. Maybe there's something better in the labs." The man shrugged.

"I want your friends gone. Do you understand?" Paul stared the wounded mercenary directly in the eyes. _Argue with that and you won't like the consequences...at least, that's what Liara called that expression._

"Patrol, the last group dispersed, lost sight five minutes ago." The wounded Blue Sun said, trying not to quiver with Paul Shepard's eyes staring into his soul.

"Dispersed? Jedore will be pissed. She wanted a show." Whoever was on the other end sounded disappointed by that news...

"You heard me, dispersed!" The wounded man bit out angrily.

"Understood, returning to the labs." The radio went dead a moment later.

The Blue Sun gestured helplessly. "There, you see? I'm helping."

"Is Jedore's lab heavily guarded?" Shepard asked.

"There are big surface to space guns to keep larger ships away. We're not equipped to fight commandos." The man answered with a low growl.

Miranda cut in. "Have you seen Okeer? Does he know about any of this?"

The Blue Sun guard shook his head. "We can't go in the labs, but everyone sees what happens when the krogan come out. I've shot hundreds. They're crazy; mindless, even. Whoever's in the lab knows what's going on."

"If you get moving now, you might find a shady spot before you bleed out." Shepard said without any pity whatsoever.

"Shit...oh, shit..." The injured Blue Sun crawled to cover in the heat, one leg dragging behind him.

"The scare was a nice touch." Miranda approved.

"I thought so. Come on. Our warlord is somewhere in Jedore's lab." Paul cleared his throat. "And the sooner we find him, the better."

"Training is part of your contract! Failure to perform means liquidation, legal and otherwise..." Jedore's voice was becoming less intimidating and more of a joke as they went along. As they advanced from where they'd left the injured Blue Sun, two more shielded Blue Suns opened fire with assault rifles from distance. Shepard swore as he made his way to cover, changing the Katana for the Phalanx.

Miranda and Kasumi looked at each other and nodded; both arming their omni-tools, they let loose a barrage of energy that knocked down both of the personal screens of the Blue Suns. Miranda felled her target with a spread of Shuriken fire to the upper head, while Shepard drilled his target between the eyes with a single shot from his Phalanx.

"To the right!" Paul called out. "There's a ramp that we can use to get to the labs!"

"And there's Blue Suns on the catwalks above and ahead, Shepard!" Miranda yelled back. Paul felt multiple impacts slam into his shields, pushing them to the breaking point. As he finally found cover from the incoming assault rifle fire, they collapsed.

"I've lost shields." He said calmly. "Kasumi, this would be a great time...

"To pull a miracle out of nowhere? I'm on it." Kasumi targeted her overload at one of the four Blue Suns on the catwalk above, but instead of hitting the shields, she hit the M-8 Avenger in his hands. Without warning, he pulled the trigger...and the weapon backfired, melting in his hands. The man yelled and threw away the Avenger, only to meet a pistol blast from Miranda's M-5 Phalanx in the throat. He dropped noiselessly to the ground below.

Miranda meanwhile pasted one of her targets with a warp attack, provoking a yell of alarm from the merc in question. Shepard's shields returned, and he joined in the chaos of battle with a will. His biotics flared as he reached out to pluck one of the men from their position with a throw...

Only to send a cascading wave of destruction that chewed up the ground in front of him. It resembled a bouncing ball of sheer energy that slammed into the ground two, four, six, eight times, up until it reached his target...

And it did then what he had wanted it to. The Blue Sun went rocketing into the air for about 20 feet and landed with an audible crunch of bones. Miranda nailed the only remaining Blue Sun with another shot to the upper chest, leaving her target open for Kasumi to finish him off with M-4 Shuriken fire.

"What's that ability called, Miranda? The blue...bowling ball...thingy." Paul gestured helplessly.

"Biotic Shockwave." Miranda stated.

"I'm going to have to work on that one." Shepard mused quietly, "Come on. We've got a lot more nasty work ahead of us."

There was another courtyard ahead, one with another raised observation area...or whatever the hell could suffice for an observation area in a climate like this. A single krogan opened fire with a grenade launcher against a group of shielded Blue Suns. Instead of firing on Shepard's squad, however, he continued his single-minded grenade attack on the Blue Suns above. Unfortunately, the odds were against the krogan; two of the five Blue Suns had rocket launchers of their own. Shepard decided to even the odds, snapping off a quick burst of fire from his M-5 Phalanx; three shots in all, before taking cover. Miranda and Kasumi took supporting positions in the rubble further ahead of his position, both switching from the M-5 Phalanx to M-4 Shuriken. A spray of suppression fire later, Paul stood from cover again to get a more accurate shot...

And just as quickly cursed as a missile slammed into his shields. _Damn it! _ His shields folded like a melted piece of plastic, and he swore for a second that he'd been injured. "I'm under fire." He reported to the squad.

"Ha-ha!" Kasumi's sarcastic laugh was not directed at him, but rather, at one of the rocket launcher-toting Blue Suns, who she had hit in the head. "Sorry, Shepard!"

Paul bit back an expletive as his shields reconstituted. He reached out to pull one of the shielded mercenaries on the upper platform towards him, and felt utter satisfaction as he snared a Blue Sun up and into the air. The Krogan nearby fired his grenade launcher just as Miranda threw another warp attack at the floating Blue Sun. The resulting explosion was a meaty mess as the biotic detonation triggered the rocket-propelled grenade. To say there was very little left of the Blue Sun would have been an exaggeration; there was practically nothing left but the smell of charred plastic and burnt meat. _I've been on battlefields before, but this is just hideous._ All four of the remaining Blue Suns had either been caught up by the biotic detonation or the grenade explosion. All were down for the count.

The krogan approached Paul Shepard, grenade launcher holstered. Miranda readied her pistol, but Paul held his hands up. Miranda lowered the pistol as the Krogan sniffed inside his helmet. "You are different. New...you don't smell like this world. Seven night cycles have I drawn breath, but something compels me to speak..." The krogan rumbled.

"He's only a week old?" Miranda seemed stunned.

Paul nodded as a passive scan from his omni-tool confirmed that fact. "They must breed them full-size, ready to kill. Not much of an improvement over regular mercs if they need training."

"Bred...to kill?" The tank-born krogan questioned. No, I kill because that is what my blood and bone tell me to do. But that is not why I was flushed from glass mother. Survival is what I hear in my head...against the enemy that threatens all my kind. But I failed even before waking. That is what the voice in the water said. That is why I wait here." The krogan shrugged, an intimidating gesture considering his size.

"Okeer's voice? Did he speak to you while you were in the...glass mother?" Shepard decided to use the same phrase the krogan had.

The krogan considered his answer and replied, "I heard the voice, not like I do now, with ears. Inside, I called it 'father'. It liked that." Shepard nodded, of course Okeer, afflicted by the genophage, would appreciate any Krogan calling him that. "But it was disappointed. I am not what it demanded I be."

"A lab with krogan..." Miranda mused aloud. "It must be an attempt to cure the genophage."

"Cure? Cure was never whispered." The krogan shot that suggestion down immediately. "Survive, resist, ignore."

"I destroyed Saren's 'cure' on Virmire." Shepard said darkly to Miranda and Kasumi. "How could Okeer expect these krogan to ignore the genophage if not by curing it?"

Miranda shook her head. "I have no idea, Commander. It doesn't look like he's had a lot of success with these krogan."

Paul decided to ask, "How did you disappoint the voice?"

"I don't know, but it was decided before I left tank mother. I was not perfect." The tank-born krogan answered glumly.

Kasumi piped up, "Maybe spending his week-long childhood in a tank made him crazy, like that merc said."

"I don't know. But I am not perfect." The krogan answered as though that was all there was to say.

"How can you speak if you're only a week old?" Paul inquired.

The krogan answered him, "There was a scratching sound in my head, and it became the voice. It taught things that I would need to know: walking, talking, hitting, shooting, sprinting. Then the voice said I was not perfect and the teaching stopped, and now I am here."

"It was taught enough to be tested, but for what?" Miranda asked, curiosity creeping into her voice.

"I do not know." The krogan said again.

Kasumi finished his statement. "But you are not perfect."

Shepard shrugged and turned to the Krogan again. "Can you show me the way to the laboratory? I need to speak with Okeer."

"The glass mother...she is up, past the broken parts. Behind many of you fleshy things. I will show you." The krogan did as he said, flexing his powerful arms. He approached a sheet of metal and, with one single effort, threw the thick sheet to the side. Paul Shepard tried not to gape at that, realizing, _Wrex did that with his mind on more than one occasion. They're all capable of this same effort with their bare hands...no wonder the Blue Suns are getting whittled down._

"Not exactly subtle, but I like it." Kasumi said with a wry smile.

"You fleshy things are slow when big things are in your way." The tank-born krogan said as he stepped out of the way.

Paul observed, "You could have run at any point, or tried to fight your way back to the labs. Why remain here?"

"I am waiting." The krogan answered him plainly. "The voice told me that if they come, I will fight. I will not run, and I will not follow. I am not perfect, but I have purpose. I must wait until called. Released."

Paul actually did feel sorry for the krogan as he lumbered away towards the battlefields beyond. _Is that how the krogan Saren trained were? My Lord, what Okeer is doing is monstrous; he's throwing away the lives of those who are totally devoted to him... I hope we don't end up needing him for the long haul. Lord alone knows what motivates Okeer._

* * *

KORLUS, BLUE SUNS FACILITY

"I don't like the look of that." Miranda said distastefully as she saw a bloody Blue Suns corpse on the ground. "Stay alert." The ground sloped downward, and while they had the high ground for now, it wouldn't last.

Shepard shook his head and pulled out his M-23 Katana. "Better be ready, then." Kasumi suddenly vanished from sight as the squad moved carefully downhill.

A pair of Blue Suns troops suddenly sprinted out from somewhere to the right, firing blindly at where they had just come from. "They're loose! Run for your damn lives! They're all free!" Both Blue Suns and the squad noticed each other at the same time. Shepard suddenly cannoned across the field and slammed into one of the troopers, sending him sprawling. The other turned his back on Miranda to shoot at Shepard, only for a tanto to grow out of his back as Kasumi struck. Shepard let loose a shotgun blast into the Blue Sun he had charged, and that skirmish ended as quickly as it had started.

Their troubles had just begun, however, and a whoosh suddenly filled the air as a high-powered shotgun blast hit the ceiling where the Blue Suns had come from. "Oh crap." Kasumi made out, and then, the battle began in earnest.

"Hand-eye for me!" A distinct krogan voice barked out over the din of combat. "A pistol's not gonna cut it!" Miranda blasted the first krogan with a warp strike that left him vulnerable to attack from just about anywhere. Kasumi cloaked while Shepard charged in, attracting the Krogan's attention. Shepard blasted away with the Katana shotgun, waiting for Kasumi to strike. Never one to miss an opportunity, the masterful thief delivered a dagger to the Krogan's back armor. Miranda finished him off with a pistol shot to the head.

_Half of Saren's army must be here._ Shepard thought sarcastically as the combat turned into potshot central. Carnage blasts from high-powered shotguns slammed into just about everything that wasn't nailed down, while Shepard, Kasumi, and Miranda were forced to fight a delaying action. _But this one is going to end in disaster unless we think fast._

"Miranda, light one of the krogan up with a warp! I've got an idea!" Shepard yelled as another carnage burst slammed into the I-beam he had chosen for cover. Miranda's biotics flared and she did just that. One of the krogan warriors groaned as his armor practically exploded, but Shepard made his life much worse by throwing out another shockwave trike, even more powerful than the first time.

The shockwave that Shepard launched collided with the warp field. The resulting detonation of biotic energy sent the Krogan warriors flying every which way imaginable in the room. Most of them were sent flying into the hull of the wrecked vessel below...and it was a long way down.

"MOVE!" Shepard yelled. "We've got to get past them and into the lab; the krogan have got the advantage in this confined space!"

"YOU WANT TO RUN AT KROGAN?!" Miranda yelled incredulously. "This redefines insanity!"

"We get them on our tails, and they'll soak up fire from the Blue Suns that we'll take otherwise!" Kasumi pointed out. "That biotic attack cleared the left passage!"

Shepard didn't waste time; if the left passage was clear, then he was going to take it. He sprinted across, Miranda and Kasumi hot on his heels. Deprived of their 'easy prey' the krogan roared and followed them from the right passage...and back into the Blue Suns compound.

This was not just like old times, he thought as he ran. Old times usually involved a wisecracking turian, a naïve asari doctor, a krogan wise beyond his years (and there were a LOT of those), a quarian engineer who could hack anything with a transistor, and a pair of human soldiers with too much...and too little...knowledge of what the world was really like.


	10. Chapter 10: Dossier: The Warlord, Part 2

KORLUS, PART TWO

"RUN!" Miranda yelled as the squad sprinted up a staircase, six very angry Krogan still on their heels. Shepard pulled a cargo container with his biotics, a decent sized piece of garbage, but it was most importantly bulky. He dragged it into the air and dropped it on the staircase between the squad and the krogan.

"Kasumi, get that door." Shepard said, his body feeling exerted after that unexpected use of his biotics...and the headlong sprint it had taken them to get there. The master thief broke out her omni-tool and threw seventy attack programs at the security in less than thirty seconds. Overwhelmed, the door gave Kasumi the code she needed and allowed the squad inside...just as one of the Krogan fired a carnage blast at them. Miranda's shields collapsed as she took the blow, but Shepard grabbed her arm and hustled her through the door.

"I knew they'd remember they have guns eventually." Shepard panted. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, my shields took the shot." Miranda gasped out. "Ouch."

"Ouch is right." Kasumi said, slamming the door with a command from her omni-tool. She immediately reinitialized the security program.

"How long can we wait?" Miranda said woozily.

"Not long at all.' Shepard responded tartly. "They've got guns, remember? They'll blast that door once it fools them enough times."

Miranda nodded wearily, rose to her feet, and pulled her M-5 Phalanx pistol out. "In that case, I'm ready for action, Commander."

"As am I, Shepard, but you don't hear me complaining." Kasumi's reply was positively acidic. "There's another staircase ahead, and some more catwalks."

More stairs. Didn't these old starships have elevators or something? Shepard wondered. "Krogan on our six; copy, goddamn it! Where is Jedore and her personal guard?" A man swore over the same loudspeaker that Jedore had been using to upbraid her personnel...and her enemies...for the past half hour.

As they made it to the top of the stairs, Kasumi closed another door behind them. "The Krogan we left behind us are going to get through that one with no problems. I thought I might as well make it easier for them to get to the Blue Suns. They REALLY hate each other..."She said with a half-smile. Shepard noticed something on the floor that a dead Blue Sun had been using...well, up until the point that they'd been killed.

"This looks pretty interesting. Can you carry it, Miranda?" Shepard picked up a modified version of a Devlon Industries M-92 Mantis sniper rifle, scanning it with his omni-tool once Miranda had hefted it. "It looks like this rifle offers a ten percent improvement in damage output over the baseline model."

"Not bad." Miranda responded drily, suddenly cocking the sniper rifle and loading a fresh thermal clip. "Use what you have, right?"

"Right." Paul said with a smile. "You really are getting the hang of working with me."

Kasumi opened a door that led from the room they were in. Miranda whispered, "Enemies in front!"

"Think we can get past them?" Shepard asked as Kasumi hastily closed the door.

"I think so. They're shooting at the courtyard. Bet they'll love our secret admirers..." Kasumi said. "Especially because they just broke down the door I hacked earlier."

"Move, quietly." Shepard instructed. "If that door makes so much as a squeak, we're done."

* * *

Ten harrowing minutes later, the krogan that had followed Shepard's squad up the stairs and the Blue Suns across the catwalk were all dead. Through sheer dumb luck, the squad had managed to sneak past, only to run into a platoon of Blue Suns on another catwalk and hallway area. They had been fortunate not to get hit from behind by the troops they had snuck past; the krogan had hit the troops holding the rocket launchers and engaged in a blistering exchange of fire that resulted in massive casualties. The entire upper area where Shepard's team had passed through resembled less a decaying starship and more a horror film, thanks to all the dead bodies.

The Blue Suns they had encountered was dead as well, but these were self-inflicted casualties for the most part. Kasumi had overloaded a rocket launcher, and one poor sap had fired despite his weapon being sabotaged. One exploded rocket launcher later that Blue Sun was down for the count (along with two of his friends) and the squad's job was made a lot easier.

_They just had to get so many damn rocket launchers! _Shepard thought angrily as his shields absorbed another impact. Two rocket launcher-toting Blue Suns crouched by what looked like a barracks area, with a Blue Suns Centurion covering them in front. Naturally, they happened to be firing with an unlimited supply of ammunition, and they were just beyond Kasumi's reach. But not beyond the reach of Shepard's pistol...the only problem being that he was running through ammunition faster than he could replenish it. If he could set up a biotic detonation... As soon as the Centurion's shields failed under fire from Kasumi, Shepard reached out with his biotics and ripped the man off the ground and into the air. Miranda's own biotics flared up and she ripped apart the pull field he had hit the merc with.

"The field's clear for now, Shepard." Miranda reported as the last Blue Sun in that area fell.

"Good." Shepard responded, breathing heavily for a moment. "My God, they just don't stop."

Miranda made no reply. Kasumi looked a little wearier, though, and said, "I thought our suicide mission was against the Collectors, but it looks like we're taking on half the Blue Suns mercenary band and all of their ammunition, too."

"At least we don't have krogan chasing after us any longer." Shepard pointed out.

"Small bonuses." Miranda replied.

"Kasumi, can you hack their base security? How far is it to Okeer?"

Kasumi brought up her omni-tool and consulted a set of readouts. "It looks like there's a laboratory and observation area in the next couple of rooms. If he's not there, then he's not anywhere in this base. I'll take point." She offered. Shepard and Lawson followed her, weapons at the ready. Another staircase later, they arrived at the first lab. A terrified looking asari scientist suddenly recognized Shepard.

"Shepard, don't shoot! You know me!" She pleaded. "I shut down the security cams as soon as I saw it was you. I never thought I'd say it, but I'm glad it's you shooting up the place." The very familiar looking asari scientist said. "Sorry, Rana Thanoptis. You let me go when you destroyed Saren's lab on Virmire. I had to outrun a nuke in a utility pod, but it's still a second chance."

"What is Okeer attempting to accomplish here, Rana?" Shepard folded his arms and awaited a long-winded explanation.

Rana sighed and gave him that explanation. "It's complicated. Jedore wants a private army, but Okay mostly ignores her. He's running the project for his own reasons. I created a mental imprint routine to help educate his tank-bred, but most get through it. He dumps them for some reason. He wants to help his people, but he's not looking for a cure for the genophage and he's not going for numbers. That's all I know."

"Finding you in a place like this makes me think letting you go back on Virmire was a mistake. You don't want that." Shepard said. His voice wasn't even raised, but his intent was clear. He seemed to be indicating the M-4 Shuriken at his waist, as well...

"We agree on that." Rana responded hastily. "Don't worry: I plan on staying as far away from anything to do with you as possible. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get moving before you blow the place or something. I know how you work."

As she left, Kasumi said, "She seemed nice...in a mad scientist, ethics for sale kind of way."

"Bingo." Shepard responded. "That's about the kindest description I've ever heard for her."

They left the lab and headed into the next room. To the right was a huge cloning tank with a very...unusual...looking krogan. To the left of that was a very old krogan, who looked at a monitor with a glare that could split the atom. "Here you are. I've watched your progress." As the squad approached, he offered, "It's about time you arrived. The batteries on these tanks will not wait while you play with these idiotic mercs."

"I take it you're Okeer," Shepard surmised. "You don't seem particularly caged...or grateful that I'm here."

"You may claim to be here to help, but the formerly deceased Shepard is not a sign of gentle change," Okeer responded in his deep voice. "Surprised? All krogan should know you. I'm sure Rana has already revisited your actions on Virmire."

"And I'm sure you're eager to tell me again." Paul responded sarcastically, folding his arms.

Okeer raised his arms up in a grand gesture, "Such a tale! Saren, the Spectre traitor, threatens the return of the krogan horde by curing the genophage; undoing the gentle genocide of the turians and salarians." Pacing in front of Shepard, Okeer pointed at his chest accusingly. "But before Saren can deliver his endless troops, in rides Shepard: securing victory through nuclear fire!" Instead of glowering, though, Okeer seemed to relish in that. "I like that part. It has weight."

"I make no apologies." Shepard said firmly. "It was the most efficient solution available."

Okeer held his hands up to indicate he didn't have an issue with that. "But I approve. Saren's pale horde were not true krogan. Numbers alone are nothing: that is the mistake of an outsider, and one that these mercenaries have also made. I gave their leader my rejects for her army. But she grows impatient. It's time for you to take me out of here."

"We're here about the Collectors." Miranda stated quite emphatically. "We couldn't care less about your problems." She added in a sneer of derision at the end for good measure.

"Yes...I see. Yes, Collector attacks have increased. A human concern." Okeer waved an arm dismissively in a manner reminiscent of Councilor Sparatus. Shepard's eyes narrowed lethally. "My requests were focused elsewhere. Through working with the Collectors, I acquired the knowledge to create one pure soldier. With that, I will inflict the greatest insult an enemy can suffer. To be ignored."

"So you don't want to cure the genophage." Paul summed up.

"Contrary to what survivors claim, the genophage does not produce strong krogan – the only quality it filters is the ability to survive the genophage," the warlord answered. "For every stillborn, too many weaklings live...and _**every**_ survivor is branded as precious. That's produced more coddling than your collective human teats! I say let us carry the genophage! Let a thousand die in a clutch. We will defeat it by climbing atop our dead. That is the krogan way." Okeer said with a sense of pride.

Paul Shepard, who had seen more death than anyone should have by his age, shook his head in disgust. "You're just as malevolent and unfeeling as those who unleashed the genophage upon your people over a thousand years ago, Okeer." _Now I __**really**__ don't want this guy for the long-term voyage. If I dropped him on Wrex, Wrex would probably rip my spine out through my feet._

"Perhaps." Okeer responded thoughtfully. "But I will restore the krogan and my soldier will not provoke a nuclear response such as a "cure" or "horde" would. My legacy is perfection, with each pure krogan reaching higher by standing on our dead. They will exceed, but not forget."

"Your search for the perfect soldier created a lot of 'failures'. You don't care about them at all?" Kasumi asked, incredulous.

"I failed no one," Okeer corrected her boldly. "My rejects are exactly what Jedore asked for. She simply lacks the ability to command. They are strong, healthy, and useless to me. I need perfection. If a few thousand are rejected, so be it. My work will purify the krogan. We will not be restored - we will be renewed." Now the warlord's voice took on a tone, the same tone that Saren had once had...on Virmire. "We will not need numbers. My soldier is a template. It is a greater threat than all the phantom siblings that would have been at its flank. The galaxy still bears the scars of the horde. But it will learn to fear the lance."

Miranda silently shook her head again and again. Paul had to imagine she was thinking: _This is who Cerberus wanted for this mission?_

Shepard shook his head again. "What do you know about the Collectors?"

Okeer turned to him again. "The Collectors are strange. So isolated...yet available when your sacrifice is big enough. I gave them many krogan." Kasumi looked absolutely horrified at that revelation, as did Miranda.. "I may have information for you, but the tech was consumed in my prototype...well, after I determined how to use it without killing the subjects. The deaths were unfortunate, but I only needed one success to start the process."

"Your methods are extreme, but you know how to deconstruct a threat. Will you help us?" Shepard asked diplomatically.

"Perhaps I can strike a deal to secure passage. But my prototype is not negotiable. It is the key to my legacy..." Okeer answered him. Miranda looked as though she wanted to tell him, _Do not let this madman anywhere near the Normandy on peril of your life._

Shepard looked at her with a glance that indicated his temporary helplessness in the matter. _What am I supposed to do, rip the cloning tank out of the ground and shoot Okeer in the back?_

"Attention! I have traced the krogan release. Okeer, of course," Jedore announced from her position in the bay beyond. "I'm calling 'blank slate' on this project. Gas these commandoes and start over from Okeer's data. Flush the tanks!" She demanded.

Miranda shook her head in disgust. "After what we did to her mercenaries, she still has enough forces to try this?"

"She's that weak willed? She'll kill my legacy with a damned valve!" Okeer cursed as he ran to the control panel. "Shepard! You want information on the Collectors? Stop her. She'll try to access contaminants in the storage bay."

"You could start over, like she plans to. What's the big deal?" Paul shrugged nonchalantly.

Okeer answered, but his voice was distant. "This tank is pure. It involved as much trial as data. Starting over will not duplicate it. It must survive. Jedore will be with the rejected tanks. Kill her. I will…stay and do what must be done."

Shepard gestured to Miranda and Kasumi. "We've got to take Jedore down before she gasses the whole damn area. It looked to me like she had tech armor on: any recommendations?"

Miranda nodded and said quickly, "Don't get too close. That tech armor will burst once breached, and it'll send energy flying everywhere. If you're too close, it'll knock you flat on your backside."

"So we snipe away at her." Shepard stated. "How many shots do you have left in the M-92, Miranda?"

Miranda checked. "Just three shots remaining, Commander."

"Then we make them count." Kasumi said with a shrug. "Use the tanks for cover, though."

"I don't care who they are, I want them dead! This is my world, I'll poison them all!" Jedore barked like a raving idiot, even backed up against the wall.

"I think she's talked enough." Miranda's face was the picture of irritation.

"First to take her down gets a three day pass?" Kasumi suggested.

"Not a fair contest, Kasumi..." Paul chastised her.

"Who said it had to be fair? Oh no." As the door to Jedore's 'arena' of sorts opened, Paul caught sight of another damnable YMIR mech.

"How come she couldn't have used that on the berserkers?!" Shepard asked to no one in particular. "Miranda, save your sniper fire for the mech; we're done for if it flanks us!"

"I've got it!" She responded.

"WATCH THE KROGAN!" Kasumi cried out. One of the tanks in front of their position had opened and a very angry krogan warrior began firing at them from range.

_Good thing shotguns aren't accurate from distance...ah hell. _Shepard charged across the battlefield and into the krogan, firing his shotgun immediately after coming to a relative stop. The krogan hit the floor, his head literally charring and melting from the incendiary rounds. _Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT! _Paul thought as he found a cloning tank for cover. _I killed enough krogan when I fought Saren!_

Jedore was more than annoying with her damn grenade launcher shooting every which way, even hitting her own YMIR mech out of clumsiness on a couple occasions. A grenade blast soared across the field and slammed into a tank, detonating it and blowing out three cloning bays. Miranda hastily moved to another cover position and took aim at Jedore, only for the pesky human woman to fire another grenade. Before Miranda could get into cover, she took a direct hit. She flinched on the spot and hastily ducked down behind another tank. As she did so, Miranda yelled out, "Kasumi, hit Jedore already, damn it!"

Kasumi obliged, closing to range with Jedore while cloaked. Shepard hurriedly switched to his Kovalyov and sprayed suppression fire all over Jedore's position. As Kasumi struck the Blue Suns commander down, however, Jedore turned, screamed, "NO, IMPOSSIBLE!" and fired a grenade at her assailant at point blank range. Combined with Jedore's tech armor detonation as Shepard's assault rifle fire struck home, it looked as though the entire scene blew up. Kasumi's shields collapsed instantly and she went skidding away; she hit the deck and was out cold from the concussive effects of the grenade. Jedore never rose again.

Miranda and Shepard were left on their own to fight the remaining krogan commando and the YMIR. The YMIR's armor was failing, but it was drawing power from the weapons to restore its shields. _That is totally unacceptable._ Shepard thought angrily, swapping the shotgun for his M-4 Shuriken. Incendiary rounds blazed away merrily at the armor on the mech, but it wasn't until Miranda blasted it away with warp that she had her shot...and she took it. Similarly to Freedom's Progress, the mech's head blew apart...and an alarm began to go off.

"Take cover!" Miranda called out. The explosion as the mech's ammunition and power supply detonated was colossal, shattering the cloning tanks that Jedore had used to unleash her berserkers just moments before and erasing the lone krogan commando from existence from where he stood. Consoles blew out all around them, and the observation window between the lab and the tank area was utterly annihilated. Shepard's kinetic barriers actually collapsed and he was forced to a knee.

Before Shepard could congratulate Miranda on her shot, alarms started blaring from the lab area. "Alarms in the lab!" Miranda cried out. "Damn it, what's Okeer doing up there?

EDI chimed in from the Normandy. "Shepard, the lab alarms coincided with a systems failure. The remaining lab systems are unprotected, and I have gained limited access. According to the lab scanners, the room is flooded with toxins and Okeer's vital signs are failing rapidly. I recommend haste."

Shepard understood, but went to Kasumi first. "Are you all right, Kasumi?"

Kasumi shook her head almost like a dog trying to shake off water. "I'm as all right as can be expected...after taking a grenade blast to the head. Is it over?"

"It is, and you get your three-day pass for taking down Jedore." Shepard offered. "We've got to get up to the lab, ASAP."

"Contamination detected. Emergency venting in progress. Contamination detected. Emergency venting in progress." An automated system from the laboratory informed the squad as they made their way back up the stairs.

Warlord Okeer, who had fought in at least a dozen battles in the Krogan Rebellions, now lay dead on the floor, next to his prototype krogan. A prerecorded message played on the monitor that he had used when they'd entered the room, and Okeer's last moments played out for them. Okeer coughed, his body suffering from the murderous cocktail of chemicals that Jedore had unleashed in revenge for his betrayal. "You gave me time, Shepard. If I knew why the Collectors wanted humans, I would have told you. But everything is in my prototype. My legacy is pure. This one soldier, this...grunt...is perfect." Okeer slumped forward on the viewscreen, his last words hanging in the air as he breathed his last.

"Okeer wasted his life to save this single krogan?" Miranda asked with a curl of her lip that indicated total disapproval.

Kasumi countered, "That thing can't be worse than Okeer. And if he's tough, we need him."

"A 'pure' krogan could pack a hell of a punch. We could always use another heavy hitter." Shepard pointed out.

"If he'll even help. I doubt anyone's asked his opinion on anything." Miranda cautioned.

Shepard nodded. "I'll take it under advisement, and we'll proceed with caution." He activated his suit radio. "Normandy? Okeer is a no-go. But we have a package that needs retrieval...and he's a big one."

* * *

MISSION SUMMARY:

Cloning facility destroyed. Blue Suns presence neutralized. Okeer dead, but his "son" was recovered.  
Loss of Okeer could be a problem. Will allow Shepard to decide whether or not to activate the krogan.

* * *

NORMANDY SR-2, DECK 2

"Bringing the krogan for study makes sense, but I have concerns about waking it." Miranda was going to have her say, and Shepard had to remind himself, _She's your executive officer for now. She has some valid concerns. Get used to it!_

"Yeah...you've said that a few times now." Jacob retorted.

"A normal krogan is dangerous: this one was created, and likely educated, by a madman!" Miranda replied, as though everyone should share her concern.

"I see everyone's enjoying the new paperweight." Shepard said, folding his arms over his chest. "Concerns?"

"We don't know anything about him, Commander." Miranda stated dourly.

"I know. You don't find that interesting?" Paul questioned.

"Krogan fight well at close quarters. Perhaps awakening him in a confined space wouldn't be prudent." Miranda offered.

"Noted. The cargo hold is safe enough for now while I decide what to do with him." Shepard responded with a curt nod. Miranda walked out of the room more exasperated than ever while Jacob shrugged and left.

As he made his way to the galaxy map, Kelly accosted him, gently, of course. "Is it true we have a pod containing a baby krogan down in the cargo hold?"

Shepard shook his head. "Not a baby. He's a full-grown super soldier, ready for combat at the drop of a pin."

Kelly urged, "Please be careful if you decide to...birth...him? His personality is completely unknown."

"I'll be sure to do that, Kelly." Shepard said confidently. Instead of heading to the galaxy map and setting their course for the Omega Nebula, however, Shepard walked straight back to the elevator and punched in a command for Deck 4. He was going to resolve this situation as soon as possible.

* * *

NORMANDY SR-2, DECK 4

The port cargo bay of the Normandy was immaculate. There was absolutely nothing out of place here...except for the gigantic krogan in a birthing chamber in the center. Shepard walked up to it and consulted EDI first.

"The subject is stable, Shepard. Integration with on-board systems was seamless." EDI reported.

"Can he see anything in there? Does he know where he is?" Shepard asked the AI.

EDI's response came quickly. "Unlikely. Current neural patterns indicate minimal cognition. Barring shipwide power loss, the nutrients in the tank could sustain him for over a year."

"What can you tell me about this guy? Anything unusual?" Shepard asked.

EDI's answer confirmed some of his suspicions. "The subject is an exceptional example of the krogan species, with fully formed primary, secondary, and tertiary organs, where applicable. No defects of any kind, aside from the genetic markers of the genophage present within all krogan. I cannot judge mental functioning at this time."

"How dangerous is this guy? Is he a security risk?"

"He is a krogan, Shepard." EDI replied. "If you are asking whether he is actively hostile, I don't have the necessary data to answer. Okeer's technology could impart data, not methods of thinking. The subject may know of his views, but would not necessarily share them."

Shepard nodded. That was all he needed to hear. "Stand by. I'm going to open the tank and let him out."

"Cerberus protocols are very clear regarding untested alien technology, Commander." EDI remonstrated.

Shepard made it damn clear he wasn't budging. "He's either a powerful addition to the crew or a ticking time bomb. I'd rather deal with it now."

EDI sounded resigned as she replied, "Very well, Shepard. The controls are online. The switch...and consequences...are yours."

Shepard input the first set of commands to drain the fluid levels and nutrient drink from the tank. The next command caused the entire apparatus to slide apart. The krogan fell to his knees, coughed out some of the fluid, and then blinked as he saw the world around him for the first time. He looked at Paul, then, without any warning, lifted Paul off his feet and slammed the commander into a container.

His voice was the most surprising part about him, though. It was utterly calm, cool. "Human. Male. Before you die, I need a name." He said without preamble, pinning Paul to the container with one hand.

"I'm Commander Paul Shepard of the Normandy, and I don't take threats lightly. I suggest you relax." Paul answered, his voice hard. _Damn, I'm glad it didn't come to this on Virmire with Wrex!_

"Not your name." The krogan responded. "Mine. I'm trained; I know things...but the tank. Okeer couldn't implant connection. His words ring hollow. Warlord, legacy...grunt... Grunt. "Grunt" was among the last. It has no meaning. It will do." The krogan decided on the spot.

"I am Grunt. If you are worthy of your command, prove your strength and try to destroy me." The krogan had Paul pinned to the container with one arm, almost effortlessly.

"Why do you want me to try to kill you?" Paul asked.

Grunt answered his question with a question. "Want? I do what I am meant to – fight and reveal the strongest. Nothing in the tank ever asked what I want. I feel nothing for Okeer's clan, or his enemies. His imprint has failed – he has failed. Without a reason that's mine, one fight is as good as any other. Might as well start with you..."

"I have a good ship and a strong crew: a strong clan. You would make it much stronger." Paul stated.

"If you're weak and choose weak enemies, I'll have to kill you." Grunt informed him.

"Our enemies seek the destruction of entire races." Shepard answered. "They're worthy of being our enemies. No doubt about that."

"Hmm. That's acceptable. I'll fight for you." Grunt decided.

"I'm glad you saw reason." Paul said with a wry smile. Grunt looked down at his chest with a strange sound resembling his name. Paul Shepard held an M-4 Shuriken leveled at his chest, ready to blast away...but only if necessary. The krogan released his grip on Shepard's neck.

"Ha! Arm one hand, but arm the other. Wise, Shepard." Grunt nodded in respect to him. "If I find a clan, if I find what I...want...I would be honored to eventually pit them against you."

"Grunt?" Shepard asked.

"Shepard." The young krogan responded.

"What do you think about the crew?" Shepard asked.

Grunt answered, "Good bunch if they stay out of my way. Dead bunch if they don't. Train them well if you want to take on Collectors, though...some of these aliens are...too smooth."

Paul asked a different question, "Did Okeer give you any imprints about the Collectors, Grunt?"

"I see blurry ships, guesses about strength, but nothing to find a weak spot and tear it apart. Okeer spent all his time on old hatreds." Grunt explained. "Well, whatever he had, it was used up when he made me." Grunt shrugged.

"What are your thoughts about our mission?" Shepard asked.

"I fight." Grunt answered plainly. "It doesn't matter who for."

"That's all for now, Grunt." Paul said, ending the conversation.

"Shepard." Grunt nodded.


	11. Chapter 11: The SR2 and Omega

"I don't know what to feel about Grunt." Kelly said helplessly as Shepard approached. "My psych reports were for Okeer. We have no guarantees that Grunt is mentally stable. I get the feeling he just doesn't care about anything, including who lives or dies."

"Is there anything I should know, Kelly?" Shepard asked.

She nodded. "You received a message from the Illusive Man and another package from Cerberus. They could be weapons upgrades of some kind: Operative Taylor is going over them in the armory."

"That'll be all, Yeoman." Shepard dismissed her.

"I'll be here if you need anything." She replied casually.

Shepard opened the message from the Illusive Man.

_ Shepard,_

_ I see you awakened Okeer's krogan. It's a dangerous decision, but you've got free rein on this operation. If you're certain he'll be a useful member of the team, you've got my support. We need every weapon we can get in this battle._

_ If this "Grunt" proves unreliable and has to be put down, don't lose the body. He's based at least partially on Collector technology and could offer useful data. Again, you are in charge._

"Well, gee, thanks." Shepard replied sarcastically, erasing the message. He walked up to the galaxy map and submitted a course. "Omega, here we come..." He whispered as he laid it in.

"We're ten minutes out from the mass relay, Commander, and should arrive at Omega in less than four hours." Joker informed him.

"Good to hear it, Joker." Shepard said. "Joker?"

"Yes, Commander?" Joker responded.

"You said four hours; I want it to be three and a half." Shepard deadpanned.

"Slavedriver." Joker muttered over the intercom.

Shepard walked back to the armory. He felt slightly guilty that he hadn't checked in on Jacob since boarding the ship yet...

"Commander!" Jacob saluted. "I haven't really had time to settle in and take stock just yet. I want to say that working with you is a great opportunity to do something that matters. It's a privilege to serve on the Normandy, Commander."

"You may change your tune if we end up like the original Normandy, Jacob." Shepard noted with a wry smile.

Jacob considered that. "Maybe, as long as the Illusive Man walks his talk, and you do the same, I'll do my best to make sure we succeed. That's been the condition for my service so far. I have...issues...with certain actions Cerberus has taken in the past.

"What did Cerberus do to make you nervous?" Shepard inquired.

Jacob paused and then said flatly, "A lot. They've been called terrorists, and with good reason. Doubt you can find a more checkered past. Maybe if we defeat the Collectors, they'll think about us a little differently. Or maybe not. We could end up all tried and executed. I can't count on people thinking about it as hard as I have." He shrugged.

"I look forward to working with you, Mr. Taylor." Shepard said with a confident smile.

"Likewise, Commander. Let me know if you need anything." Jacob offered him a salute and then returned to his duties.

* * *

NORMANDY SR-2, DECK 3

Doctor Karin Chakwas stared over her two patients. Kasumi had been treated for her wounds that she'd sustained from a grenade blast at close range while fighting Jedore. She slept off the rest of the medication on one of the beds. Commander Paul Shepard lay flat on his stomach while Chakwas ran a number of instruments up and down his back. She made small humming sounds as she proceeded, finally resorting to the best tactile probes she had when she'd used all her instruments. She tapped Paul's back with her fingertips over and over again, provoking small grunts from her patient as she did so.

"You can sit up now, Commander." She said as she finished. Paul groaned as he moved to an upright position; he'd been lying down for the past hour and a half. "The good news is that your facial scars are healing naturally."

"Do I have anything like these on my back?" He asked quietly.

"No." Chakwas responded simply. "You don't. Why that is, I don't know, but rest assured, I'll find out sooner or later. Maybe Miranda will tell me more about what she did to bring you back..."

Paul nodded after sighing in frustration. "She should have had a talk with you already, Doctor. I'll tell her to put that higher on the list of priorities. What about my implants?"

Chakwas consulted a data reading that was displayed on one of her consoles. "You were registered as an extremely powerful biotic at the time you enlisted in the Alliance Naval Academy, Commander. I monitored your biotics two years ago, and they'd definitely increased in power and duration. The new implants that Cerberus gave you have a number of...abnormalities, and if you don't mind, I'd like to tweak them a bit before you go." Paul looked baffled.

"Can you even do that?"

Chakwas practically scoffed. "Of course I can, Commander. Fine-tuning a biotic implant is a complex procedure, but your body chemistry makes more sense than Kaidan's did." She considered and then added excitedly, "That's even with the medical tech that Cerberus installed all over your body!"

"Right. I keep forgetting Kaidan had issues with his L2 implants." Shepard said aloud. "Doc, have you heard from him?"

"I'm afraid I haven't, at least, not since I took my leave of absence from Mars, Commander." Chakwas said as she readied a laser scalpel to get to the implants underneath Shepard's skin.

"What are you two doing?" The medbay doors rudely opened and Miranda Lawson strode in, glaring at Chakwas.

"I'm fine-tuning the Commander's biotic implants, Ms. Lawson." Chakwas said by way of explanation. "In fact, I was hoping you could tell me more about them..."

"Wait, WHAT?!" Paul hastily scrambled to his feet and away from Chakwas. "You were just going to slice into my arm and see what happened next, Doc?"

"Of course not." Chakwas replied, an edge coming into her voice. "Those scans we did earlier helped me locate the implants. EDI went to all the trouble of mapping them out while we talked, and I've got a plan of action ready to go."

"What are you going to do, then?" Miranda asked, her demeanor not improving at being blown off.

Kasumi rolled over from where she slept on her bed and said drowsily, "Oh back off, Miranda. Doctor Chakwas is probably going to vivisect Shepard, but you don't mind that, do you?"

Miranda glared at Kasumi and pointed at the door. "Out, Kasumi. Now!"

"Fine, fine." Kasumi replied flippantly. "I prefer my own bed, anyhow, but in the absence of a medical professional..."

"OUT!" Miranda pointed again.

Kasumi hastily left. Miranda turned to Chakwas and directed her glare at the venerable doctor. "Would you like to explain just what you planned to do?"

Chakwas's next words were somewhere along the wonderful phrase, "we should keep him under while we tweak the implants". Paul shut his eyes and groaned.

* * *

ONE HOUR LATER

"Ouch." Both of Paul Shepard's arms positively exuded pain at the moment. Doctor Chakwas deftly cauterized the cut she had made with her laser scalpel, while Miranda used a cauterizing agent of her own to ensure the sealed wound wouldn't burst the first time Paul flexed his triceps.

"It's done, Commander." Miranda said flatly. "Once Doctor Chakwas told me what she had in mind, I was able to point out what needed to happen..."

Chakwas gave his arm a sympathetic pat as she helped him to a sitting position on the bed of the medbay. "We've adjusted the implants accordingly."

Paul asked Miranda first, "What changes will I notice in combat? Did you do anything else to screw me up?"

Miranda responded defensively, "You should notice that your cooldown times between power usages have decreased. You won't feel as exhausted by launching multiple biotic attacks in a short period of time, as you might have two years ago." She sighed. "I should have seen this coming: the L5n implants are tapping into the eezo nodules in your bloodstream in ways the L3n's never did. It's also possible exposure to the Tantalus Drive Core, both during and after the destruction of the original Normandy, could have increased the size of the nodules." Miranda gave Shepard a glance that indicated that she didn't have an immediate answer. "Doctor Chakwas and I can go over your files again. In short: you are far more powerful than you were when you defeated Saren."

"Good to know." Shepard said offhandedly. "I don't suppose there are any other biotic talents hiding away that this procedure unlocked, are there?"

Miranda shook her head. "No, we only tweaked the implant so it can handle greater demands from your biotics in a short period of time. Trust me, if we knew how to add in biotic attacks other that what the implants enable..."

"Cerberus would resemble less a human supremacist group and more a biotic supremacist group." Shepard replied almost sarcastically.

Chakwas interrupted. "While you were under, I was able to conduct some further investigation regarding your facial scarring. The old adage of 'mind over matter' holds true: negative attitudes and aggressive acts will create adverse reactions with your cybernetic implants. By contrast, peaceful thoughts and compassionate actions promote healing. If you maintain a positive outlook, I believe your facial scarring will heal on its own." She sighed. "Otherwise, there is surgical equipment we could acquire that would insulate your cybernetic implants and accelerate your healing, regardless of your mental outlook."

"What do you think is the best for now, Doctor?" Shepard asked, digesting what she'd just said.

Chakwas looked at him in the eye and said, "To be frank, with your current mental outlook, I'd say you should keep up things as they are. The surgical equipment I mentioned earlier is only available on worlds like Ilium and Noveria, and even then, at a very high cost."

Shepard swung his legs out from the bed and rubbed his forearms from where Miranda and Chakwas had sliced into them. "How long should I refrain from using biotics?"

Miranda shrugged. "The incisions have been cauterized and sealed, Commander. You shouldn't have any problems after we arrive on Omega in half an hour."

Shepard nodded and rubbed at his triceps again. "Half an hour? Joker really is a genius."

Chakwas smiled knowingly at that. "Take care on Omega, Shepard."

"Will do, Doctor." Shepard replied as he finally shoved off the bed into a standing position. "Will do."

As he left, Miranda followed him and turned to walk over to her office. Paul said as soon as the medbay doors closed, "You had to have known that was going to happen."

"You mean, with your implants? I had a good idea, but didn't act sooner." She stopped mid-step and looked at Paul. "My mistake...and I rarely make mistakes."

"Don't obsess over this one." Paul said reassuringly. "I'm not even sure it was a mistake: you just showed up right before Chakwas could start slicing away."

"I suppose it is a good thing that I arrived when I did." Miranda shrugged unhappily as Paul made his way to the elevator.

* * *

CODEX: Planets and Locations: Omega

_Originally an asteroid rich in element zero, Omega was briefly mined by the Protheans, who eventually abandoned it due to its thick, impenetrable crust. Thousands of years later, nature did what even the Protheans could not: a collision with another asteroid broke Omega in half, exposing its trove of element zero for easy mining._

_A rush ensued as corporations and private individuals tried to strike it rich on Omega, and thieves and outlaws followed in their wake. As space became tight, construction of processing facilities extended vertically from the asteroid, creating Omega's jellyfish-like silhouette. To prevent future collisions, the station is ringed with enormous mass effect field generators that redirect incoming debris._

_Today, Omega is a major hub of narcotics, weapons, and eezo trafficking without even a pretense of civilian government or military control. Only mercenary groups have been able to instill a limited order; the most ruthless is an asari syndicate run by the notorious Aria T'Loak._

* * *

OMEGA NEBULA, SAHRABARIK SYSTEM, OMEGA

"Ah, Omega. What a pisshole. At least it keeps you on your toes..." Miranda grumbled as she, Grunt, and Shepard proceeded down the boarding ramp to the station proper. "I've had to come here on business before. Every time, I feel like I need a shower after coming here...and that's in addition to normal decontamination." The boarding ramp finally came to an end, allowing them ingress to an observation ramp.

Shepard agreed. "The less time we spend here, the better." Grunt followed along behind, the Kovalyov that Shepard had used on Korlus stowed over his back and an M-22 Eviscerator that Jacob had somehow acquired on his back. Miranda had left the M-92 Mantis she'd picked up on Korlus in the armory for Jacob to analyze, but had her standard Shuriken/Phalanx pistol stowed at her side. For his part, Shepard had only the Phalanx, Shuriken, and Katana for armament.

Before they'd left, Jacob had promised he'd find another Kovalyov at the soonest opportunity. Given the size of the black market on Omega, that opportunity was going to come sooner rather than later.

A gangly looking salarian approached them, waving his arms and offering enthusiastically, "Welcome to Omega! You're new here; I can tell!" A heavily built batarian approached him from behind as the salarian said, "Let me just-" The batarian placed one hand on the salarian's shoulder and fairly wrenched the salarian around to face him. "Oh, hello Moklan!"

The batarian looked decidedly unimpressed with the salarian and commanded, "Leave, Fargut. Now."

"Oh, of course, Moklan; whatever _she _wants!" The salarian made a hasty retreat down the corridor as the batarian waved an arm disgustedly to send him on his way.

"Blasted scavengers." The batarian said disgustedly. He offered a much more sincere greeting than the salarian had. "Welcome to Omega, Shepard."

"You know who I am?" Paul Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"Of course." Moklan answered as though it was obvious. "We tagged you the second you entered the Terminus Systems; you aren't as subtle as you like. Aria would like to know what brings a dead Spectre to Omega. I suggest you go to Afterlife now and explain yourself."

Paul tried to defuse the sudden hostility that had built up between them by complying. "Then that's where we go." As he passed Moklan, he offered, "I'm not here to cause any problems for Omega. I'd hoped Aria would realize that."

Moklan answered with a wave of his arm. "Things explode around you, Shepard. Can you really blame Aria for keeping an eye on you?"

"I suppose not." Paul shrugged as he continued.

Grunt gave Moklan a curious glance as he followed Paul down the corridor and towards the door at the end of the corridor beyond. EDI chimed in over the radio as they approached it, "I am receiving quarantine warnings about the slums where Dr. Solus operates his clinic. Anticipate resistance at any transfer stations. In addition, I have tapped into several mercenary transmissions about plans to deal with Archangel. There is a recruiting station in Afterlife that may have more information."

Paul brought up his omni-tool and checked the likely locations of both Aria and the transfer station to the slums. The door finally opened, allowing Paul to see into the blinding haze of neon lights that made up Omega's 'upper streets'. AFTERLIFE was the most prominent thing in sight immediately. The long lines of people waiting to get into the club, Omega's most exclusive (according to the Dossier) was the next most visible sign.

A human near the front of one line snapped at an elcor bouncer. "Come on, let me in! Aria's expecting me! Ugh..."

"Annoyed: If she were expecting you, you would be inside." The elcor stated in the forthright manner of his people.

As they made their way to the back of the line, a batarian guard suddenly waved them forward to the doors of Afterlife. Not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Shepard approached and another guard nodded. "Go on in." The batarian bouncer standing in front of the doors said casually. "Aria's expecting you."

The hallway leading to the club proper had couches on either side. Virtual flames licked up monitors on either side, giving the appearance of warmth, heat...passion? Paul couldn't quite tell what the designers had wanted for this place. A group of three batarians suddenly stood aggressively from where they sat as Shepard approached. One of them snapped, "What are you looking at?"

Shepard responded coldly, "Don't you have something better to do than pick fights with people you don't know?"

"No." The batarian fired back, "Just the ones that get in my face."

Paul casually pulled the M-4 Shuriken from its stowed position. "You can see my gun." He waved it almost casually. "You _really _want to do this?"

The batarian, who clearly didn't expect a confronted party to show as much backbone, hastily backed down. "I...okay. You're off the hook. For now...see you around." The three batarians went into the club.

Shepard looked at the krogan standing behind him to see him stowing the Kovalyov over his shoulder. "Grunt, did Okeer give you any imprints about subtlety?" He asked with a ghost of a smile playing on his face.

"Not really." Grunt rumbled back with a short laugh.

Shepard shook his head; from the corner of his eyes, he could have sworn Miranda was trying to stifle a smile of her own.

The doors to Afterlife entered as they approached. If Shepard had thought the outside of the club was blinding, the inside hastily worked to disprove that assertion. Neon merrily blazed inside of light bulbs in just about every conceivable location. _Of all the times to not have an N7 helmet..._ Paul thought grimly. _I could get a seizure walking around this place too long._

A bar to the right appeared to be packed to capacity. Paul's omni-tool indicated that the recruiting station was to the left, and locked securely. _We talk to Aria, then._ Paul thought. A turian guard at a staircase leading to a raised platform waved up the stairs. "Area's been expecting you, Commander. Up those stairs." He gestured with his Scimitar shotgun.

A distinct asari with a white vest overlooked the action. As Shepard walked up towards her, she said, "That's close enough."

Paul turned slightly to stare down the business end of an M-3 Predator heavy pistol, complete with silencer barrel on the end. Miranda and Grunt immediately readied pistol and shotgun, respectively, only for Aria's guards to ready an impressive array of heavy weapons and rifles. Aria shrugged her head to the side slightly, and her guards relaxed. Miranda and Grunt followed suit. The batarian who'd held the Predator on Shepard began scanning him over with his omni-tool. "Stand still!" He barked out in the manner of a drill sergeant.

Paul sighed and pulled out his M-4 Shuriken from its stowed position, handing it to the batarian. "If you're scanning for weapons, you're not doing a very good job."

Aria turned slightly and said, "Can't be too careful with dead Spectres, Shepard. That could be anyone wearing your face."

"They're clean!" The batarian responded after a few moments.

"I was told you're the person to talk to if I had questions." Paul plainly said. "Is that true or not?"

Aria walked towards him, completely casual. "Well, that depends on the questions."

"Do you run Omega?" Paul inquired.

Aria seemed to be suppressing laughter for a moment, before she gave up and laughed aloud, gesturing to the core of Afterlife. "Run Omega? I **am Omega!**"

She turned back to Shepard. "But you need more than answers to questions, don't you? Everyone needs something. Location, information, elimination, assassination...and they all come to me." Confidence emanated from every pore of her body as she stated, "I'm the boss, CEO, queen...well, if you're feeling dramatic. But that doesn't matter. Omega has no titled ruler and only one rule..." She sat down. "Don't **fuck **with Aria." Aria T'Loak smiled ruthlessly.

"I like it." Paul said soothingly. "It's easy to remember."

Aria shrugged. "If you should be unfortunate enough to forget, someone _will_ remind you."

The batarian who'd scanned Shepard earlier nodded. "And then I toss your sorry ass out the nearest airlock!"

Aria casually gestured for Shepard to sit down. "So...what can I do for you?" She asked, nonplussed.

Paul raised an eyebrow and asked, "One scan and we're straight to business? People were usually a lot more concerned about who I was, and who I represented."

"Your death was downplayed, but hardly what I'd call a secret." Aria responded in a smooth tone of voice. "I had to make sure that was really you. You could have been anyone...or anything." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Based on your reputation, whatever you need will come out on its own. I'm curious..." She admitted. "But Omega really doesn't care about you." She raised an eyebrow as if to indicate the unspoken _yet..._

"I'm looking for Professor Mordin Solus." Shepard said, leaning forward slightly.

"The salarian doctor?" Aria answered curiously. At Shepard's nod, she continued. "The last I heard, he was trying to help out plague victims in the Gozu District. I always liked Mordin." She gave Shepard a smile. "He's as likely to heal you as he is to shoot you."

"Can you tell me how to find him?"

"There's a transfer station that can take you to the entrance to Gozu. Mordin's somewhere in the slums. No guarantee the guards will let you in, of course." Aria added, "Mordin's brilliant, and dangerous. He has to have Special Tasks Group background." She gestured to Shepard, "Just don't get him talking. He _never_ shuts up."

"I'd better find Mordin, then."

"Yes." Aria responded readily. "Just try not to bring the plague back with you..."

"What can you tell me about the plague?" Paul asked.

"According to Mordin," Aria started, "it's a cross-species respiratory ailment with an extremely high fatality rate. Works nasty wonders on just about everyone...except humans. And the Blood Pack and their vorcha." She added testily.

"Is that even possible?" Miranda asked. "Even turians and salarians would be affected, but not humans?"

"I can send you a copy of the data Mordin gave me." Aria said coolly. "You probably won't want to take your krogan in there, that's for certain." She gave a nod to Grunt.

"Thanks for the information, Aria." Shepard stood up.

"My pleasure." Aria always had to have the last word, didn't she?

As they left Aria's presence on the overlook of Afterlife, Shepard caught sight of someone in a room to the right. "Is that who I think it is?"

"Who?" Grunt asked.

"Human woman with graying hair in that back room," Shepard said without preamble, "her name's Helena Blake. She ran a Syndicate out in the Attican Traverse. I persuaded her to stop."

Miranda nodded. "I see her." She brought up something on her omni-tool and nodded. "It seems over a third of her gang went up and joined Eclipse. After she dissolved it..."

"Damn it." The expletive escaped Shepard's mouth before he knew it. "Grunt, be ready to break her in half...but only if necessary."

Grunt smiled, a fearsome sight, as the trio approached the older woman.

Helena Blake actually greeted Shepard with a smile this time. "Commander Shepard?! I'd heard you were dead! I'm Helena Blake." She re-introduced herself.

Shepard's reception was far colder than what she'd expected. "I remember killing a pair of pretty despicable warlords out in the Attican Traverse at your request, yes."

"And then you persuaded me to retire...I'd never forget that." Blake said.

"And now, you're on Omega." Paul said coolly. "Once a criminal, always a criminal?"

Helena vehemently shook her head. "Absolutely not, Commander; I retired. I know far better than to break my word to a Spectre." She almost bowed. "You convinced me to turn my life around. I'm a social worker here, believe it or not."

"It must seem like a hopeless job in a place like this." Paul pointed out. "So...why do it?"

Helena smiled. "Quite the opposite, actually; a place like Omega needs social workers. Doing good work in a place like this requires that you know exactly how things truly work. That makes me uniquely qualified."

"I'll imagine." Paul said, somewhat convinced. "That's nobler than I expected."

Helena looked down. "Noble? No. It's just that someone came along a few years ago and made me see the error of my ways." She pointed to Shepard. "You convinced me that I could finally use all the contacts I'd acquired and skills I'd developed for something other than exploitation and smuggling. Without you...I don't know how things would have turned out."

"I'm glad to hear you're staying out of trouble, Helena." Paul offered after a moment.

Helena nodded. "Thank you. The work I do here is all to your credit, Commander."

Shepard nodded towards the exit to Afterlife. "I have to get going now, but we should talk later. You'll have to tell me how you've coped in an environment like this someday."

"Someday, perhaps." Helena offered. "I'm sure you've got more important things to do for now."

Shepard, Miranda, and Grunt made their way through the crowds of Upper Afterlife. Shepard shook his head as he took in the sight of asari wearing basically nothing, humans throwing about money like it meant nothing to them, and turians throwing their weight around. The batarians, by and large, tended to keep to themselves.

After leaving that part of the nightclub, Miranda found a quiet part of the street where they could get some privacy. Paul radioed in. "Jacob, Kasumi, are you there?"

"Loud and clear, Commander." Jacob answered.

"There's been a complication." Paul explained. "There's some sort of bioengineered plague wreaking havoc in parts of Omega, and Mordin Solus is trying to treat it. Problem is, the plague fells every kind of life but for a couple: humans and vorcha." He turned to Grunt, "Grunt, we're heading back to the Normandy in a bit. You'll stay there."

Grunt looked as though he wanted to protest, but Shepard's expression and demeanor at the moment convinced him. "Uh-huh. I'll head back aboard."

Miranda cut in, "Jacob, I just received some medical files that Aria said came from Dr. Solus. I'm wondering if Dr. Chakwas could have a look at them and see exactly who unleashed this plague."

"Got it." Jacob replied.

Paul issued more orders. "Jacob, you'll meet us at the airlock. We'll head to the plague zone afterwards and find Professor Solus."

"On it, Commander; I'll be ready to go."


	12. Chapter 12: The Professor, Part 1

OMEGA, TRANSFER CENTER TO GOZU DISTRICT

"Repent! The end is nigh!" A gangly batarian barked out over a small group of humans. Shepard shook his head and kept going. The squad approached the transfer center. A high-speed elevator appeared to be locked down entirely, with a turian guard bickering with a human woman outside.

The turian's patience had to be wearing very thin as he angrily said, "Complaining is pointless, human. There's a plague in the district: no one gets in or goes out." He looked as though he wanted to brandish the assault rifle in his hand.

The human, who wore an outfit common among many spacer crews, was incredulous. "You can't keep me out! I live in Gozu, damn it!"

Paul, Jacob, and Miranda approached the bickering pair. The guard snapped, "Look, woman, I told you to get out of here! That plague has the entire zone quarantined: no one gets in!"

"I'm human, you ass." The woman retaliated, growing angrier and angrier by the minute. "Humans can't get the plague. I need to get my stuff out of that apartment before looters get to it." Her teeth clenched as she stared angrily at the turian.

"This thing affects every other race out there." The turian replied, his irritation building with every word. "We are NOT taking any chances! No one gets in until the plague has run its course."

"I'm to take it that the Gozu District is completely sealed off, then?" Paul observed as he walked up next to the human woman.

The turian sighed. "Finally, a human that can hear..." The woman bristled. "That's exactly what I've been saying for the past half-hour."

"You can't keep me out!" The woman desperately said. "I'll lose everything!"

"Anyone in the quarantine zone is either going to die from the plague or the gangs in a few weeks, woman." The turian shrugged. "I'm doing you a favor, lady."

"Should I guess that Aria T'Loak gave the order to seal the slums, then?" Miranda spoke up.

"She did." The turian nodded. "She's got her little blue hands on every business on the station, and Gozu in particular. A plague is bad for business. She hired us to keep anyone from entering or leaving the quarantine zone."

_How do we get to Mordin, then? _Paul thought. "There's a salarian scientist named Mordin Solus in the slums. I've got to find him."

The turian's mandibles flared outwards slightly. "The doctor? Crazy bastard opened a clinic in the district a few months ago. Blue Suns weren't too happy when he moved in. I hear Mordin's trying to deal with the plague. I wish him luck, but we've got orders to lock the area down."

"Do you honestly think that the _plague's_ going to respect an artificial barrier like the doors or these elevators?" Paul asked, his voice flat.

"Look, we have our orders." The turian replied testily. "We're to wait until the plague or the Blue Suns kill everyone, and then clean up the mess."

"What can you tell me about the plague?" Shepard asked, keeping his expression impassive.

"It starts out as a cough. Then you start coughing up blood, and...well, then I shoot you. It affects multiple species though: turians, salarians, krogan, you name it." The turian said, worry beginning to creep into his voice. "Only humans are immune...and the vorcha, if you count them." He said contemptuously. "An airborne disease that takes down multiple races? We can't let something like that spread. So Aria issued the quarantine."

"Diseases crossing species barriers?" Miranda pointed out. "Turians and salarians can't even eat the same food."

"Right..." The guard mused. "Most people are saying it has to have been bioengineered. Seeing as the humans are immune to the plague and are doing a lot of looting, a lot of people believe humans made it."

Paul shook his head disgustedly. _Of course, something like this comes along and every opportunistic moron on Omega becomes a badass overnight. Pathetic. _"I don't suppose you can tell me where I'll find Mordin's clinic, can you?" Paul asked, not expecting an answer.

"Not a clue." The guard wearily admitted. "And why would you care? Gozu's quarantined, remember?"

Paul made his observation of the situation. "Look, you're stuck here until the quarantine is lifted. That could take weeks, possibly even months." Paul then offered another alternative. "What really needs to happen is for this problem to get solved, right now, if possible. And that's what I do: I solve problems. Let me in, and I'll get the situation sorted out in the Gozu District."

The guard considered that and then nodded. "If you think you can fix this, then why not? The quarantine is to keep the infected people in, anyway. I'll radio ahead, and tell the guards at the checkpoint you're coming. They'll let you in."

The woman, who had stood silently by for the past few minutes, immediately stood forward in disbelief. "Wait, you're stopping _me_ but not them?!" She waved her hand dismissively. "You son of a bitch."

The guard regarded Paul Shepard's weaponry. "You don't have a shotgun, lady. Do you honestly think you'd have a chance against vorcha?"

Paul tried to console the spacer woman. "As soon as the situation's been resolved, you'll be allowed in. Do you really want to try and run through a shooting war between the Blood Pack and the Blue Suns?" The woman looked down despondently. "We'll work as fast as we can." He concluded. The woman nodded despondently and walked towards the streets of Omega.

Paul walked back to consult the squad. Miranda spoke up, "Fortunately, humans are immune to the plague." Paul gestured towards the elevator, and they proceeded off to the lower levels of one of the most despondent places in the galaxy.

* * *

OMEGA, GOZU DISTRICT

The first body the squad encountered was a turian member of the Blue Suns. His body was positioned awkwardly, and blood practically oozed from his armor. Paul shook his head at the sight. _Everywhere we go, something terrible is going on. _They proceeded down a hall; a scrolling display warning of the quarantine and to take all necessary precautions.

A trio of turian guards attired similarly to the one at the transfer center stood, aiming assault rifles briefly. "Don't shoot, they're cleared to come in!" One of the turians standing at the barrier ordered hastily.

"The entrance to the slums is back that way." One of the turians indicated. "Here, I'll show you." He jumped down from the barricade area and led them to a door, guarded by another turian.

The door guard nodded at the sight of Paul, Miranda, and Jacob and said, "Good luck in there. The Blue Suns and vorcha are shooting at just about anything that moves."

The doors slid apart to allow the squad past, and Paul saw a pair of shielded Blue Suns troops standing at the far end of a street. "Two hostiles dead ahead. They don't know we're here." He reported.

Miranda and Jacob nodded; getting into action very quickly. Paul launched a shockwave at the same time as Miranda fired away a warp attack. Similarly to Korlus, the explosion as the warp effect was detonated by an enormous shockwave sent the Suns sprawling. Bones snapped, sinews twisted, and both were down before they even had a chance to fight back. They hadn't even had to fire a shot...

Paul took in the fires on the streets, only to wish that he hadn't. "Guess they just left the dead in the streets." Jacob said, repulsed.

"Burning corpses." Miranda had almost no emotion in her voice. "They must be trying to keep the plague from spreading."

"Probably making matters worse..." Paul grimaced as he made out the features of a dead turian on the pile of bodies. "It is an airborne disease..."

A sign for vacant apartments lay disused in the distance, as did a decrepit looking bank terminal. Paul brought up his omni-tool and hacked into the older terminal, which rapidly did as he wanted. "Huh, looks like the last person who used this wanted 4000 credits." Paul muttered under his breath. "No idea what happened to the poor sap."

"There are some apartments back here, Shepard." Miranda indicated. "And some power cells for our weapons."

"Jacob, you mind stowing the cells while Miranda and I search the apartments for any survivors?" Paul asked.

Jacob did so at once, while Paul opened the door to one of the apartments. However, when Miranda gasped at the sight of a pair of dead turians, he came over and looked at the body. "It looks like they tried to claw their way out. No one wants to die trapped like an animal..."

"True enough." Paul downloaded their personal logs. "Maybe we can send these to their next of kin, if they had any." Taylor retrieved the power cells and indicated he was ready to go. Paul gestured back towards the rest of the district, and they left the dead turians to their eternal rest.

By where the now-dead Blue Suns had been standing was a very sick batarian, who looked as though he'd crawled his way to his current position. As Paul approached him, he grunted out, "Humans...should have guessed. It's bad enough you infect us with this plague. Now you lack the decency to even wait until I die before you come to steal my possessions."

"Humans didn't create this plague." Paul said firmly.

"Lies drip from your mouth like the blood from my sores." The batarian retorted. "The proof is there for all to see!" He coughed horribly, and continued. "Your species is the only one that does not succumb to the virus. Yours...and the wretched vorcha."

"I need to find Mordin Solus." Paul stated. "Do you know where I could find him?"

"Humans looking for the human sympathizer...I hope the vorcha burn Mordin and his clinic to the ground!" The batarian burst into a fresh fit of even more awful hacking noises. "I hope you...damn it...damn you... I can't..." His head drooped further and further to the ground.

Paul immediately readied his omni-tool and applied a dose of medi-gel. "Hey, stay with me! This won't cure the plague, but it will help your lungs recover a bit."

The batarian, now healing, role unsteadily to his feet, and stammered out, "You...you helped me? Why?"

"It's what I do." Paul Shepard responded. "I don't know if I can find a cure for this plague, but I'm going to try."

The batarian nodded. "Your words sound sincere. Maybe it is the fever, but...as you said, what have I to lose? What do you wish to know?"

"You were talking about vorcha earlier?" Paul inquired.

The batarian nodded again and spoke in a much healthier voice. "Before the quarantine, the Blue Suns controlled this district. But as their numbers dwindled, the vorcha began to move in. The Blue Suns are fighting desperately to protect their territory, but as the plague spreads...it's only a matter of time before the vorcha overwhelm them."

"Aren't the vorcha immune to the plague?" Jacob observed. "What if they were the ones spreading the virus so they could take over the district?"

The batarian considered that answer and then shook his head helplessly. "The vorcha are immune to disease: a human created virus wouldn't affect them. But if the vorcha created the plague, why wouldn't it affect humans? Besides..." He bit out savagely, "The vorcha aren't smart enough to make a virus like this. They're scavengers. Sorry, human, you may not want to believe it, but all the evidence points to your species."

"Where can I find Mordin Solus?" Paul asked, again.

"He opened up a clinic on the other side of the district. He's taking in refugees, offering to help those infected with the plague. I was afraid to go to him before; he's dangerous... But perhaps he can help." The infected batarian shrugged again.

"What could make Mordin worse than dying from the plague?" Paul had to wonder what could possibly bypass the galaxy-renowned batarian preservation instinct...

The batarian coughed again before launching into his explanation. "The Blue Suns attempted to extort protection money out of Mordin. He stunned them with some kind of toxin, then gunned them down. He's not just a doctor. Doctor's don't execute people and display the bodies as a warning."

"When I find Mordin, I'll tell him about you. If he has a cure, I'll make sure someone gets it to you."

"Thank you, human." The batarian said very genuinely. "My time is running short, but your words have given me a glimmer of hope to brighten the darkness of my final hours." He coughed again. "I don't want to die. Whatever Mordin is, I will risk it, if he can reach me..."

"We should find Mordin." Paul said to end the conversation.

"Goodbye, human." The batarian crouched down and sat quietly, trying to suppress coughs from racking his figure as Shepard's squad headed off down a side alley.

Paul noticed a security door to his right, but didn't want to bother with it. "We're pressed for time as it is." He explained. "The sooner this mess gets settled, the better."

"Agreed." Miranda stated as they passed a large counter, which might have been used to set up a storefront in the past. As the squad came around another corner towards a cafeteria, Miranda hastily gestured for the squad to take cover behind a set of pillars. "There's a Blue Suns checkpoint up ahead. I could see six or seven Suns, up there, and they've got kinetic barriers."

"We're going to need a better vantage point. There are stairs to the left." Jacob whispered.

"That's where we head, then." Paul agreed. "Keep it quiet."

The trio quickly made their way up the staircase Jacob had indicated. Sure enough, they had an excellent vantage point on their opposition: six Blue Suns stood behind a concrete barricade, armed mostly with M-8 Avengers but with one M-15 Vindicator in sight. "I've got the two to the right." Miranda said quietly.

"I'll take the middle two; that leaves you with the ones on the right, Jacob." Paul ordered. As soon as they had their sightings, Paul opened fire.

His intended target suddenly looked up, only to meet several M-5 bursts to the upper chest area in a few seconds. The kinetic barrier held up through three shots, and an incendiary round buried itself in his neck. The human screamed, only to meet a second burning round in the left side. Paul finished his first target off a moment later.

"Humans!" One of the Blue Suns yelled out. "Don't let them spread the plague, damn it!" That Blue Sun met his fate moments later when Miranda buried a Phalanx round of her own in the turian's shoulder. Jacob blasted away with his Phalanx from range against one of the Blue Suns, draining his target's shields.

"Gravity's one mean mother, huh!" Jacob shouted as he reached out and snared his target up and into the air a powerful pull attack. Miranda's eyes widened and she lashed out with another warp strike. The biotic detonation scattered the surviving three Blue Suns (having almost eviscerated the Sun hit by the explosion), but they were in no shape to fight back for very long. The efficiency with which Paul Shepard's squad ended the fight was stunning.

Paul hastily made his way back to where the Blue Suns had barricaded and found another Blue Sun, a turian, lying in a crumpled heap with crusted blood all around him. "Vorcha must have gotten to him. Wait...this could be really useful." The dead turian had let go of an Armax Arsenal rifle after his fellow Suns had dragged him from the halls outside. Paul hefted a Crossfire series C-105 Assault Rifle. "Jacob, this was almost definitely custom-modified. You want to take a look at it after we get back to the Normandy?"

"Sure thing, Shepard." Jacob responded.

"Welcome to Kokomo Plaza..." Miranda read off a sign with a disdainful expression. "Some welcome..."

A door to the right brought them into their first glimpse of full-scale gang warfare in Omega. A pair of embattled turians fought valiantly against what looked like a dozen or more vorcha. The turians held...briefly...before they were felled under a virtual hail of submachine gun fire.

With one glance, Paul indicated to Miranda and Jacob what their tactics would be against the Blood Pack.

* * *

TEN MINUTES LATER

Jacob was sweating from both exposure and from a set of bullet wounds across his shoulder. His kinetic barrier had saved his life, but his ballistic jacket hadn't held up under fire as well as he'd hoped. Shepard ministered medi-gel to the injured Cerberus Operative and shook his head again. "I don't know how the heck they got that close that quickly, but you nearly paid the price for my overconfident strategy." He muttered. "I made a bad call, Jacob, and I'm sorry."

Jacob nodded. "I appreciate the gesture, Shepard." He shuddered as another bullet wound closed. "And next time, I'll duck faster."

"It seems we've crossed into vorcha territory." Miranda observed. "Those two krogan didn't look too well at all, though. Their suits were sealed, but they weren't moving like krogan usually do."

"That could be a side effect of the plague." Shepard added.

"The Blue Suns have given up a LOT of territory." Jacob pointed out as he rose to his feet with some assistance from Shepard. "That doesn't bode well for them."

Paul noticed another security door, but this one had been clearly forced aside. His blood boiled as he realized who would have been able to do something like this...human looters. _Damn it._

"Hey. Hey! Back off! We got here first!" A human voice proclaimed indignantly. Paul saw two rather emaciated looking humans, one of whom ran through the pockets of a dead turian with a callous lack of regard for...well, anything. As Paul approached, the leaner of the two gestured threateningly. "Hey, what did I say! We found this stuff; it's ours."

"Forget it, Nothing but junk in here." The other human stood from the dead turian disgustedly. "This place is worse than the last one."

"What are you doing in this apartment?" Miranda's eyes narrowed lethally as she asked. "Did you kill that turian?"

"Him?" The shorter of the human vagrants responded coldly. "Nah, the plague took care of him. We're just here to take a full accounting of all his worldly possessions."

Paul looked anything but pleased by that admission. "Stealing from the dead...that's pretty low." He disapprovingly stated.

"What's the big deal? It's not like the dead are going to miss anything." The leaner human said dismissively. "We're just showing a little entrepreneurial spirit. The plague doesn't affect humans, so...we might as well cash in."

"Besides, if we don't take this stuff, the vorcha or the Blue Suns will." His companion tried to appeal to Paul's desire to help humanity forward. "Better us humans then them, right?"

He failed abysmally. "No more looting." Shepard said angrily.

"Or what?" The lean human folded his arms over his chest, daring the Spectre to reply in kind.

Paul smiled humorlessly. "I have killed people for less...just so you know."

"Uh, I don't think he's kidding, man..." The human who had looted the turian said, flinching back a step.

"Whoa, hold on a minute!" The lean human hastily replied. "Nobody needs to shoot nobody! We just wanted to make a quick buck – that ain't worth getting killed over! We're done." He practically bowed to Shepard. "Seriously, I swear."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Paul responded testily. "Jacob, Miranda, show them out. I'll lock the apartment so that no one else gets in after we leave...that includes these two jackasses, by the way."

"Understood, Commander." Miranda said, casting the lean human a derisive sneer and gesturing with her Shuriken where he was to go. After Paul sealed the apartment, they left the two would-be looters outside on the streets. They hastily scrambled to get away from anyone who might have shot at them.

More burning corpses blazed away horrifically on what had been a storefront. Paul felt as though the worse things got, the more he was desensitized to the horrors around him. A door separated Kokomo Plaza from the next area; Paul opened it to expose a stairwell leading down...with a sign labeled CLINIC at the bottom. "Finally." Shepard muttered as he saw the arrow leading them to the right. Another sign redirected them around another set of winding corridors, and finally, Shepard's squad arrived at the clinic exterior.

"No funny business." A man carrying an Avenger Assault rifle explained. "Unless you want to deal with those mechs." He gestured to a pair of LOKI mechs, which were similarly outfitted with the rifles.

"Good work." Miranda said as she hastily stowed her sidearm; Shepard and Jacob following suit as well.

A female receptionist at one of the desks looked up and stated, "I'm sorry; I'm too busy to stop what I'm doing and chat. You should go find Mordin."

"Mordin's around the back rooms somewhere; go talk to him. We need all the help we can get." Another man, wearing a scientist's uniform similar to the one Shepard wore aboard the Normandy, said.

A turian patient said unprovoked to Shepard, "Mordin saved my life. I owe him...well, everything."

"I guess our salarian genius came up with a cure for the plague, then." Paul surmised.

"Professor, we're running low on cipoxidin." An assistant shouted from one of the back rooms.

A voice responded in quick, brutally efficient sentences. "Use malanarin. Plenty on hand; almost as good. Causes cramping in batarians. Supplement with butemerol."

"Malanarin and butemerol. Got it." The assistant responded.

The same quick voice voiced their thoughts aloud. "Cenozine is the catalyst; bonds to genetic markers. Hard to find. Expensive to mass produce. Why not heplacore? Too unstable, inconsistent results. Demozane the better option- No, Demozane toxic to humans. Not an option, not an option."

Paul looked in the back room to see Professor Mordin Solus for the first time. He was a curious salarian with unusual reddish-white colorations and black eyes surrounded by red rims. An unusual grey harness came up from his clothing and framed the back of his head, and like most salarians, he had a pair of horns at the top of his skull. However, one of them appeared to be broken off. The violence that action had to have taken didn't look like it had slowed Mordin down at all, though.

"Professor Mordin Solus, I presume?" Paul inquired.

Mordin didn't answer immediately, but rather, left off his research and scanned the squad with his omni-tool. "Human. Hmmm. Don't recognize you from area. No mercenary uniforms. Quarantine still in effect." His scan completed, he walked over to another console. "Here for something else. Vorcha? Crew to clean them out? Unlikely; vorcha a symptom, not a cause." After three console commands on that station, he walked over to another one and looked up suddenly. "The plague? Investigating possible use as bioweapon? No, guns, not enough data-gathering equipment; soldiers...not scientists." Paul nodded slightly to confirm Mordin's hypothesis. "Yes. Yes!"

Mordin again drifted into another string of thoughts. "Hired guns, maybe? Looking for someone important? Important. Valuable, someone with secrets..."

Shepard cut him off smoothly, "You can relax, Mordin. I'm Commander Paul Shepard, and I came here to find you. I'm here on a critical mission, and I need your help."

"Mission?!" Mordin looked up hastily. "What mission? No, too busy. Clinic understaffed. Plague spreading too fast. Who sent you?" He ducked behind the bed and looked to be throwing out some sort of scanners in a haphazard manner.

Paul looked down at the medical bed in front of Mordin's console. A dead batarian lay twisted in a position of utter agony. Paul answered softly, "It's a covert and privately funded human group."

"Related to plague?" Mordin stepped up again. "Doesn't affect humans. Human-centric interest, however. Few human groups would know me." He walked away towards another console, picking up the one scanner he wanted from the pile he had thrown on the ground as well. "Equipment suggests military origin. Not Alliance standard. Spectres not human. Terra Firma too unstable." He held up a hand and nodded. "Only one option remains."

Mordin walked back, "Cerberus sent you." He concluded, closing his eyes briefly. "Unexpected."

Miranda nodded. "You're very well-informed. How did a salarian scientist hear about Cerberus?"

"Crossed paths on occasion." Mordin answered. "Thought they only worked with humans. Why request salarian aid?"

Paul gave his answer. "The Collectors are kidnapping entire human populations on the frontier of the Terminus Systems and Attican Traverse. We're going to find out why...and stop them in their tracks."

Mordin held a hand to his chin and nodded. "Collectors? Interesting. Plague hitting these slums is engineered: Collectors one of few groups with technology to design it. Our goals may be very similar." He walked off to yet another console and said, "But, must stop plague first. Already have a cure. Need to distribute it at environmental control center. Vorcha guarding it..." He looked up at Paul. "Need to kill them."

Shepard looked up wearily. "Just once, I'd like to ask someone for help and hear them say, 'Sure. Let's go; right now. No strings attached.'" He sighed.

Mordin smiled. Standing up from the console in back, he countered, "Life is a negotiation. We all want. We all give to get what we want." As he finished his sentence, suddenly an alarming red light began to emanate throughout the district. The atmospheric vents on the ceiling slowly pinched off, and a distinct whoosh of air was heard as the ventilation system suddenly powered down.

"What the hell was that?" Jacob asked.

Mordin consulted his omni-tool and then answered quickly, "Vorcha had shut down environmental systems. Trying to kill everyone. Need to get power back on before district suffocates." He handed Paul a set of vials. "Here, take plague cure." Bending down, he pulled up a heavy pistol. "Also, bonus in good faith: weapon from dead Blue Suns mercs. Could come in handy against vorcha." Mordin handed Paul Shepard a pair of M-6 Carnifex hand cannons.

"One more thing." Mordin said as they turned to leave; Paul handing the Carnifex pistols to Jacob and Miranda. "Daniel. One of my assistants, went into vorcha territory Looking for victims..." He paused for breath. "Hasn't come back yet."

"If I see him, I'll do what I can to help." Paul offered.

Mordin smiled slightly. "Thank you. Told him not to go. He's smart, though...bright future. I hope."

Paul remembered, "I found a batarian plague victim near the entrance to the district. Can you send someone to help him?"

"Risky." Mordin considered. "Blue Suns, Blood Pack still battling. District not secure. See what I can do."

"Have you had any trouble at the clinic?" Jacob asked.

"Nothing major." Mordin answered readily. "Blue Suns came for humans. Made threats. Killed them before things escalated."

"For a doctor, you're awfully calm about taking out a group of mercenaries." Paul noted.

"Wasn't always a doctor. Some work with Salarian Special Tasks Group." Mordin replied casually, holding up an M-6 Carnifex of his own. "Can handle myself. Advantage of being salarian; krogan, turians, vorcha all obvious threats. Never see me coming." He concluded with a wary smile.

"Can you tell me anything further about the plague?" Paul asked. "The guard at the transfer station was able to give us a rundown of the symptoms, and we forwarded the notes you gave Aria to our doctor."

Mordin nodded. "Hmm, advanced design. Suspected Collectors before you mentioned them. Purpose seems experimental. Destroys respiratory systems with harmful genetic mutations," He sighed. "Makes sense to avoid humans. Unnecessary to force mutation on human genetic structure for sake of variance."

"Unnecessary mutations? What are you talking about?" Paul was baffled.

"Possible goals of virus." Mordin answered. "Testing viable mutation level in various species. Horrific, but feasible for Collectors. Humans known to have diverse genetic background; wider range than other sapient races. Make sense as control group," He explained.

"Let's head to the environmental plant, then." Shepard said.

"Yes, restore power, release cure. Will be here when you return." Mordin returned to his work, humming quietly as he did so. Paul Shepard thought he heard an unmistakably human tune in Mordin's voice, but couldn't tell for certain. _He's eccentric, but he's a savant of a salarian._


	13. Chapter 13: The Professor, Part 2

GOZU DISTRICT, OMEGA

As Shepard's squad left the clinic, the female guard at the door warned them, "Be careful. The Vorcha have taken this part of the district. You won't run into many Blue Suns past this point."

Miranda nodded. "Good, it means we won't be wasting any incendiary rounds against Blue Sun shielding."

Paul readied his M-5 Phalanx and opened the door. "Make every shot count, though. Vorcha and Krogan regenerate unless hit by Incendiary Rounds...or biotics."

"I'm ready for action, Commander." Miranda reported as incendiary bars sprang into existence on her M-6 Carnifex. "Thank you, Jacob."

Shepard looked at the Cerberus operatives. Jacob shrugged. "Once we get back to the Normandy, I'll show you how to do that."

"I look forward to it." Paul said nonchalantly as they headed down a corridor. According to the maps Mordin's assistants had given them, there was a large market plaza ahead. Shepard felt the back of his neck tingling with danger as he approached the entry to the market plaza, and appropriately rolled across from one side of the doorway to the other, scouting out the situation quickly. "I see a number of Vorcha ahead, including a pair with flamethrower units."

"Aim for the tanks, then." Jacob suggested in a low whisper. "We could inflict a lot of collateral damage that way."

Shepard indicated with one hand that they should attack simultaneously in 10 seconds. "Pick your targets carefully." He advised in an equally low voice.

Just as Shepard sprang his end of the trap, one of the Vorcha flamethrower units whirled in step. Miranda yelled out, "They see you, Shepard!" With that, all hell broke loose. The flamethrower-toting vorcha raised his weapon and unleashed a ferocious stream of searing gas from the barrel, forcing Paul into cover. From that position, he couldn't fight back... As Jacob and Miranda entered the fight, the heavy discharges of M-6 Carnifex fire filled the air. Sounds of anguish and the low whoosh of incendiary rounds finding their targets filled the air...but the anguish wasn't from human voices. Jacob and Miranda took notice of Paul's precarious position and concentrated their M-6 fire on the flamethrower-toting vorcha.

"It's about to go up!" Jacob warned as suddenly a hissing noise filled the air. The vorcha that had pinned Paul down suddenly yelped with surprise and attempted to get rid of the heavy flamethrower tanks on his back. Paul sprang up from his crouched position and blasted two shots through the vorcha's skull. The vorcha slumped forward just as the tanks exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere...including into Paul's kinetic barriers.

For a moment, it was as though Paul Shepard's vision suddenly filled with red as he fell back into cover. _Just like the old days whenever my barriers failed against Saren's geth army..._ He thought angrily to himself. "Deploying medi-gel..." Paul muttered as he prepped his omni-tool. Seconds later, his vision cleared as the life-saving compounds ran through his suit. Jacob took up a position besides the commander and began picking off targets from range.

"Have a nice trip!" Jacob yelled as he pulled a vorcha off the ground with a powerful biotic pull. Seeing his tactic, Miranda let loose a warp attack and detonated the pull effect, killing the vorcha instantly.

"Yes!" Miranda yelled out triumphantly, suddenly falling back behind cover. "Here goes!" She launched another warp attack at a different vorcha who was just entering the fray, carrying a missile launcher and a grenade belt. A second biotic explosion occurred as the warp attack detonated the vorcha's bandolier of grenades and armor. The vorcha Miranda had targeted had essentially been sucked through biotic hell in less than a second. Of the six or so vorcha that had been in the room when the squad arrived, five were down. Miranda put an M-6 shot through the skull of the last target, ending that one's life.

"Krogan incoming!" Jacob called out as he approached a stairwell.

"Try a real man's weapon!" The krogan snarled, firing a huge carnage blast at Jacob's position. The former Alliance Marine hastily fell back from his current position to another place where there was more cover.

"Oh, great." Shepard muttered as his shields regenerated. "Miranda, flank this guy! Jacob, hold your position!" He pulled the M-23 Katana from its holstered position behind his back and readied it, hearing a distinct metal sound as if a sword was being drawn. _Well, that's just fantastic._ A pair of reddish-white bars blinked into existence on either side of the shotgun's barrel.

"Got it!" Jacob winced as another shotgun burst tore into the table he had chosen as his next cover.

Miranda winced as she readied another biotic warp attack, flinging it a moment later but wincing from the strain of launching three warp attacks in such a short period of time. The Krogan trooper groaned as part of his armor twisted apart and exploded, but the bluish glow remained. The krogan whirled to face Miranda, yelling with rage...

But before the trooper could lay waste to the Cerberus operative, Paul Shepard blasted from his current position and slammed into the krogan in the blink of an eye, surrounded by glowing blue biotics. The "charge" effect detonated what remained of the pull, sending the krogan flying across the room and into the staircase with an audible thunk. Paul looked around. "All hostiles are down." He said clearly. "Everyone all right?"

Miranda nodded. "I'm fine, Shepard. Should have seen that tactic coming...speaking of which, great work, commander." Paul nodded appreciatively.

Jacob shrugged, feeling the earlier holes where his ballistic jacket had been torn by vorcha bullets. "I've been better, but medigel's kicking in. I'll be fine in a minute. You all right, Commander? Looks like the Blood Pack put about a dozen rounds into your left arm."

Paul looked down at his left arm and silently shook his head. "Medigel's working for me as well, but I'll need to see Chakwas after we get back to the Normandy." He gestured to the staircase. "For now, we head on up and see what nasty surprises the vorcha have waiting for us." As neither Jacob nor Miranda responded at first with any great enthusiasm at that prospect, Shepard rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. We'll avoid direct fire as best we can and resort to taking the best shots available."

Miranda nodded, but noticed something sitting on a console and walked over to it. She smiled as she saw what it was. "Hard to shoot something off at a hundred yards with a pistol, isn't it? Look at this beauty!" She hefted the rifle. "Rosenkov Materials Volkov-9 Sniper Rifle, and a damned fine looking one at that." She swore as she noticed something else. "It's a Blue Suns weapon, but it's got no adapter for clips, so it has the same issues as all the old-style weapons. I might get two shots at best, and have to clear the heat sink three times before I can get two more."

"You have infinite ammunition, though." Paul reminded her. "And for a sniper, that's more important."

"True. That Devlon Industries rifle I got on Korlus had some issues with a limited ammo supply, didn't it?" She cocked the rifle, before arming the safety. While Jacob and Shepard proceeded up the stairs, Miranda slid in one of the preset disruptor ammunition chips to program every shot to have shield-bursting rounds. "Not quite as good as Taylor or Shepard's incendiary rounds." She muttered to herself. "Better than nothing."

* * *

SOMEWHERE IN THE GOZU DISTRICT

From the doorway leading out into another plaza area, Miranda gazed through scope of the sniper at the vorcha toting the grenade launcher on the balcony ahead. The gaze of the vorcha was directed at the bottom of a nearby stairwell on the promenade below. "I've got a target lined up." She whispered. "One vorcha heavy carrying M-100 Grenade Launcher, Shepard."

"Where there's one, there's a crowd." Paul reminded her. "There'll be others nearby. Take your shot, but be ready to move fast to get to that cover ahead."

Jacob nodded at that. "Looks like there's a sniper's perch up ahead." He pointed out.

Paul took charge. "Jacob and I can head down the stairs and draw the fire from the grenade launchers. They can't fire without leaving cover unless they want to kill themselves with the grenades." He said quietly, "Miranda, you'll take out this guy, then we'll move in below."

"I've got it." She responded dourly.

"Jacob, let's move down those stairs now. Miranda, fire when ready." Shotguns at the ready, Paul and Taylor headed down the stairs, Paul taking the lead. Miranda sighted her target once again, leveled the crosshairs at the vorcha's teeth, and fired a moment later. The recoil of the rifle was significant, forcing her to take a step back, but the scream of pain told her all she needed to know about the shot. Miranda hastily sprinted forward to get to the sniper's perch ahead, staying in cover. She heard the thick reports of shotgun fire from below, along with alarmed yelling from the vorcha, but ignored them as a more immediate threat presented itself. There were two more vorcha with M-100 grenade launchers on overlooks to the right of the one she'd killed, and Miranda swore as they noticed her racing to cover. Three rocket-propelled grenades soared through the air from the balconies, but Miranda was fortunate in several respects. Paul and Jacob had drawn the attention of the heavies, meaning that they'd had no chance to get an accurate fix on her quickly moving figure. She was moving quickly enough that they'd only gotten a wild shot at her, having tried to pin down Paul and Jacob.

She readied the Volkov-9 at the second vorcha with the grenade launcher and fired again. She didn't wait to see if she'd hit this target, but instead knelt back into cover and vented the heat sink of the Volkov. "Gravity's one mean mother, huh!" She heard the biotic attack rather than see it as Jacob yelled from below.

"Can't target them, no shields, though!" Shepard snapped from the floor below. "Take them out, Taylor!"

"Target down!" Jacob yelled as he felled the vorcha he'd pulled off the ground with a shotgun blast. Miranda sighted the third grenadier, breathed silently, and fired again. The rifle kicked savagely again, and she swore as her shot did not hit the third vorcha in the head, instead drilling her target through the chest. A distinct electrical effect coursed over the hapless vorcha's body, however, and her target collapsed to the ground with a gurgle moments later.

"Watch the krogan!" Miranda yelled out as a Blood Pack veteran approached, firing a concussive shot...and it was aimed at her. She had a mere instant to react and ducked hastily, the burst smashing into the edge of her cover.

"I'm on it!" Shepard called out, suddenly racing across the field of battle and into the krogan with a biotic charge. Miranda recovered just in time to see Shepard bash the krogan in the skull with the shotgun not once, but twice. A second shot at point-blank range finished the krogan off. Before she could congratulate Shepard, she sighted a pair of Blood Pack Vorcha wielding flamethrowers coming through the door behind a barricade. She hastily leveled the Volkov at the tanks and fired, but the result wasn't what she'd expected. The disruptor ammunition chip caused sparks to fly all over the tank as it was breached, and the superheated gas needed only a spark to unleash a devastating explosion. The vorcha whose tank Miranda had blasted ceased to exist as the heat fried him on the spot. The second flamethrower was covered by superheated gas, and a warning hiss filled the air as his pack malfunctioned. An ugly gurgle and an explosion later, that vorcha also exploded.

Jacob surveyed the scene and stated, "Field is clear, Shepard." Miranda grimaced as she made her way to the staircase. _Damned Blood Pack, _she thought inwardly, _why do they always pick the stupidest tactic in the book? Flamethrowers? Seriously?_

"Nice shooting, Ms. Lawson." Shepard said with a small smile. "You had us covered pretty well there." He brought up his omni-tool and queued up a map of the area. "It looks like we head through this door and up these stairs. Keep an eye out for that missing assistant of Mordin's, though."

As they proceeded through the door and up the stairs, Miranda pointed out, "If he was trying to treat infected batarians, they might not have received him too well. The one we encountered at the entrance to the district was hardly the friendly sort."

"They've got the wrong idea." Paul responded caustically as he approached a door and put his ear up to it. "It sounds like there's quite a...discussion...going on in there." He brought out the M-5 Phalanx, making sure the Incendiary rounds were ready. "Jacob, Miranda, get your pistols ready."

The Cerberus operatives did just that, and as Paul queued open the door, he heard a distinctly batarian voice say, "We know you're spreading the plague virus. We saw the vials in your bag."

"No!" A human voice responded desperately. "Those vials contain the cure, please, you have to believe me!"

"Maybe we should cut off your fingers." Another batarian voice suggested. "That should loosen your-"

"Look out!" The first batarian yelled as the door opened. The second batarian hastily pulled out a custom-modified shotgun that resembled an M-27 Scimitar and aimed it at Jacob. The first batarian drew an M-3 Predator and pointed it at the assistant's chest. _This must be Daniel, _Shepard thought, _Mordin's missing assistant..._ The batarian visibly gulped as Shepard's squad entered the room, pistols at the ready. There were two other batarians in the room; one held an assault rifle while the other carried an M-3 Shuriken machine pistol. The first batarian said fiercely, "Don't move! One wrong step and we kill your friend." He offered to pull the trigger of the Predator pistol for good measure.

Paul did not back down. He saw something else on the faces of all four batarians. Despite their armaments, they were terrified. Given the size of the vorcha force that his squad had taken out, Paul understood damn well why these batarians were worried. Four weapons against three? Those were not favorable odds, and if these batarians already had been exposed to the plague, they were likely on the verge of panicking. Even if they were able to kill Paul and the squad (which Paul surmised was an extremely unlikely outcome), they'd never make it. He saw pure fear in a way he hadn't seen since the destruction of the Normandy SR-1.

He was tempted to yell the batarians into submission, but realized that wouldn't help. The double paradox of batarian respect came to mind: they respected you if you respected them. Paul chose this tactic. "I understand you're scared of the vorcha, and that you're scared of the plague. But you're blaming the wrong man." He gestured to Daniel passively with his free hand. "This man isn't to blame. If he really were trying to spread the plague, why would he bother coming into vorcha territory? They're immune to disease."

The batarian with the shotgun recognized this and nodded slightly. "He's right. This doesn't make any sense."

The first batarian seemed to relax his grip on the Predator slightly, then offered. "If we release the prisoner, can we go?"

Paul nodded in an instant, tilting his head slightly to the left. "You have my word on it."

The first batarian paused for a moment. He then lowered the Predator to face the ground, and tilted his head to the right as he gestured to his fellow batarians. "Let him go." Their weapons lowered a moment later. He turned to Paul. "You got what you wanted, human. Are we free to leave?"

Paul lowered the Phalanx pistol to the ground, and Jacob and Miranda followed suit. "We had a deal."

"Human nobility." The batarian said thoughtfully. "I didn't know such a thing existed."

"Now, you do." Paul shrugged slightly, again tilting his head slightly to the left. The batarian considered that and all four of them left the room...but not before one of them took a vial from the assistant's bag.

"Thank you." The assistant, Daniel, said genuinely. "I thought they were going to...going to kill me." He shook his head sadly. "Did Mordin send you to find me?"

Paul nodded. "The professor could use your help right about now."

Jacob spoke up. "He's got too many patients but not enough volunteers."

"I'll get going then." Daniel responded. "Thank you again. I owe you...well, I owe you everything." He grabbed his bag and left the room, but Shepard actually took his shoulder for a moment.

"Take this." Paul offered, giving Daniel his Shuriken. "We took out a large group of Blood Pack on our way here, but I'd be lying if I told you the district was safe right now." Daniel took it, but before he could say anything, Shepard and the squad headed out.

* * *

VENTILATION CONTROL, GOZU DISTRICT

Paul had had about enough of the damnable vorcha by now. But seeing the same thing in your sights again and again and again would do that. _This wound doesn't help matters._ He shook his left arm, applying another dose of medi-gel just to be certain. He queued open the door leading to ventilation control, only to reveal five vorcha. One of them, clearly the leader of some sort based on the bandolier he carried, snarled at the sight of the humans. "Rrragh! You no come here! We shut down machines, break fans! Everyone choke and die! Then Collectors make us strong!"

Paul cut his monologue short by shooting the vorcha in the head, reloading the pistol a moment later. His voice was harsh as he stated, "I've had enough of this." The remaining vorcha, stunned by Paul's elimination of their leader, weren't able to get so much as three shots off before all of them joined him on the floor, writhing in pain or in the throes of death.

"Shepard, I have scanned the room you are in now." EDI reported. "The central control system is in an alcove in the center of the back wall." Paul looked to where the AI indicated, and saw that this indeed was the case. "You can inject the cure and stabilize the systems there. The fan controls are on consoles in rooms on either side of the one you are in now. However, these must be reinitialized simultaneously."

Shepard nodded. "It'll require careful coordination in that case. We'll need a few seconds..." He sighted more vorcha closing from the hallways to either side of the room they were in and sighed disgustedly. "...and we don't have them right now." He held a hand to his face exhaustedly. "They never learn. Jacob, do me a favor and pluck that skinny one on the left, the one smack in the middle of his group."

"Got it, Commander." Jacob smiled grimly as he reached out with his biotics. Blue energy snatched the vorcha off the ground and into the air, and the unfortunate victim yelled out in panic.

"Miranda, demolish him." Paul uttered viciously. Miranda acted rather than spoke, biotic energy coursing over her arms and upper body as she lashed out. The unfortunate creature didn't even have the chance to scream as the biotic field around him detonated...which demolished him as well. The Blood Pack on that side didn't have so much of a chance as to breathe before the explosion, and they were staggered or sent flying every which way. One poor sap of a vorcha went flying up from that hallway and landed with an audible crunch of bone on a table in the main room.

Paul cracked his knuckles as the group on the right approached. _Time to let loose, _he thought. Shepard's eyes emanated biotic power as he unloaded first one, then two shockwaves on the survivors of the biotic explosion. These, too, were sent flying, and without any warning at all, Paul Shepard charged into their midst, M-23 Katana at the ready. Four shotgun blasts and an explosion later, all of the remaining vorcha on that side were down...and then a krogan emerged from the back room.

"Bring it on." Paul stated; his expression a grimace. "I prefer a straight fight, anyway." The krogan readied his shotgun...and then Paul charged him from less than ten meters away, firing as soon as the krogan had been knocked off balance. He swung the Katana like an actual sword, only to connect as the proud Blood Pack member tried to rise to his feet. One clanging crash later, Paul knocked the krogan senseless.

Making sure he was clear, Paul readied the console. He then headed back to the main room, shrugging slightly. If Lawson and Taylor were half as good as he thought they were, all the Blood Pack from the room on the right would be down as well. Shepard's suspicions were confirmed as he entered the room, as Miranda stowed the Volkov over her back and Jacob lowered his shotgun to his back. "That's one of the damnedest things I've ever seen, Shepard." Jacob complimented. "Vorcha never had a chance."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Taylor." Paul responded with a smile. "Let's get these fans going and get back to Mordin."

* * *

GOZU DISTRICT, CLINIC

"Environmental systems re-engaged, airborne viral levels dropping, vorcha retreating, and patients improving." Mordin appraised the situation as the squad returned to the clinic. "Very well done, Shepard. Thank you."

Daniel smiled. "And thank you from me as well. I thought those batarians were going to kill me...and I thought you'd kill them for a second, even after they let me go."

"They were terrified, Daniel." Paul reminded him firmly. "And I made a promise. I keep my promises."

"Merciful of you." Mordin said quickly, "Risky. Would have killed them myself."

Daniel's jaw dropped and his horror was evident as he spoke, "Professor, how can you say that? You're a doctor, you help people!"

"Lots of ways to help people." Mordin chided him with a raised finger. "Sometimes heal patients, sometimes execute dangerous individuals." He lowered his hand and said quietly, "Go check on the patients. Think about what I said." Disillusioned, Daniel left the room, his shoulders low. Paul couldn't tell if it was indignation or shame that he shook with as Daniel made his way past him. Mordin shrugged. "Good kid; bit naïve, he'll learn in time."

Shepard nodded slightly. "We've stopped the plague. Are you ready to stop the Collectors?"

"Yes." Mordin's response was swift and he smiled somewhat. "Surprised to be working with Cerberus, unexpected...but suspect many surprises in store against Collectors. A few things to finish up here at the clinic. Won't take too long. Meet you at your ship..." He breathed quickly. "Looking forward to it." He smiled again. "But before you head out..." He ran to a console. "Finished cure work, then had time to analyze medi-gel dispensers in use by existing military forces. Upgrades in area are feasible, but will require resources."

Shepard smiled at this, but a sharp pain ran through his arm a moment later. _I've got to have that wound checked out._ "We'll see you back on the Normandy, professor."

* * *

MISSION SUMMARY:

Recruited Dr. Mordin Solus for the team.  
Examination of Omega plague cure confirms Dr. Solus's expertise.  
Work on Omega can also be used for leverage with Aria as well.

* * *

NORMANDY SR-2, OMEGA

"Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Chakwas patted Shepard's left shoulder. "Three pistol rounds stuck in your skin? How did you not notice them sooner?"

"Adrenaline and medigel, Doc." He responded, feeling the wounds. "I'm amazed it was just three rounds."

"Just don't let it happen again." She chided gently as he stood up, drawing the science uniform around him as he left. "Be careful out there, Commander."

"Of course, Doc." He replied, shaking the top of the uniform into a more comfortable position. He made his way to the elevator, and from there, went to Deck 2.

The doors opened, revealing the gleaming galaxy map and the rest of Normandy's operations center. Kelly Chambers noticed Paul and cheerily reminded him, "You've received new messages at your private terminal, Commander."

"I'll look at them after the debriefing." He replied quietly. "Yeoman, what day is it?"

"August 2nd, 0200 hours."

"How long were we on Omega?" He asked.

EDI replied instead, "Roughly 3 hours, Shepard. The transit times between the Gozu District and the rest of Omega accounted for most of that time, but the intermittent fighting also occupied nearly one hour."

"Right." He was exhausted more than ever. Chakwas had made one incision too many for his liking and the wounds combined with his biotic assault on the Blood Pack near the end of their adventure on Korlus had taken a toll on Paul Shepard. As soon as they debriefed Mordin, he would rest up in his cabin. It occurred to Paul that, if EDI was correct, he hadn't taken _any_ time to sleep in the last few days aside. He didn't think Chakwas putting him under to work on his biotic implants counted, and he knew this was not a healthy decision on his part. If he wanted to be in any kind of fighting shape when he went back to recruit Archangel, he had to rest.

As he made his way through the armory and off to the briefing room, he heard Jacob say, "That's the tour, Professor. Welcome to the Normandy."

"Yes, very exciting." The salarian scientist answered with a smile. "Cerberus working with aliens. Most unexpected. Illusive Man branching out, maybe? Not so human-centric?"

Shepard immediately stepped in. "Don't kid yourself, professor. Humans still come first in the Illusive Man's eyes, but this mission is too large for them to handle alone."

Jacob nodded. "The Collectors are abducting humans on the fringes of the Attican Traverse and the Terminus Systems."

"Hmmm." Mordin pondered. "Obviously not simple abductions; wouldn't need me for simple..."

"Entire colonies disappear without a trace, professor." Jacob continued. "No distress signals are sent, and there are no signs of the attack afterwards. The only indication that anything happened at all is that every man, woman, and child in the colony is nowhere to be found."

"Gas, maybe? No, spreads too slow." Mordin immediately began theorizing. "Airborne virus, possibility? No, slower than gas. Drugged water supply..."

Shepard stepped in. "You don't have to guess at things, Professor. We've taken samples from the colonies, and we'd like your expert advice on them."

"Of course, samples, yes; going to need a lab, though..." Mordin's voice trailed off.

"There is a fully-equipped lab on the command deck, Professor Solus. Should you find anything lacking, please place a requisition order." EDI announced.

"Who's that?" Mordin asked suddenly. "Pilot? No, voice was synthesized. Simulated emotional inflections as well. Could it be?" His eyes widened. "No. Must be. Have to ask: is that an AI?"

Paul confirmed the salarian's suspicions with a nod. "The Normandy SR-2 is equipped with an artificial intelligence, professor."

"An AI on board. Non-human crew members..." Mordin said quietly. "Cerberus more desperate than I thought!"

Jacob said firmly, "The Collectors have taken tens of thousands of colonists. We'll do whatever is necessary to find and stop them."

Mordin accepted this at once. "Of course, yes...can't risk being abducted like colonists. Need to identify and neutralize Collector tech. Lab is to the right, yes?"

Jacob nodded. "Follow me, professor."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Oh goodness. This section took forever. Glad it's done. Talking like Mordin...may last a bit longer.

Hopefully, I'll have a picture of Sir Paul Shepard to upload at some point in the near-future. He is NOT Sheploo, plain and simple.


	14. Chapter 14: In Retrospect

The dreams returned to Paul Shepard's mind the first night he truly slept since his reconstruction. They were never pleasant.

...

"With all due respect, it isn't your decision to make, Gunnery Chief Williams." Kaidan's voice spoke out in the darkness of Paul Shepard's mind. "It's Commander Shepard's."

Ashley shook her head disgustedly. "Why is it that whenever someone says, 'with all due respect', they really mean, 'kiss my ass?'"

Paul's voice spoke, but it was as though he were speaking to them from far away. "I hope you were planning on ending that question with a 'sir', Williams." She nodded hastily, and Paul made his decision. "Alenko, you'll coordinate the salarian teams. Williams, Wrex, you're with me on the assault team." The Krogan battlemaster nodded determinedly. "Tali, Garrus, you will accompany Kirrahe." _Which only left Liara alone..._ "Doctor T'Soni, you're with the team arming the bomb. We'll rendezvous at the bomb site. Once we get there, Ashley, you'll arm the explosive."

"Acknowledged, Commander." The quarian and turian both saluted and walked over to Captain Kirrahe. Liara unexpectedly touched Shepard's arm before she turned to go towards the Normandy, and he touched her hand back. She smiled through her helmet, as though she were saying, _It'll be fine, Paul. I trust you more than anything in the universe right now._ But then she left, and Paul gazed after the asari for a few moments, looking to the shoreline of Virmire.

"No heroics should be necessary, Alenko." Shepard said after Liara had left. Ashley remained for a moment, while Wrex went back to a tent to pick up the heavy shotguns and weapons they would need for the assault on Saren's base.

"I know. It..." Kaidan's voice cut off. "It looks like this is it. Don't do anything foolish while I'm gone, Ash. That goes for you too, Commander." He met Shepard's eyes.

Paul nodded. "Kirrahe talked like he expected this to be a suicide mission. I plan on everyone getting out of here alive. Understood?" A series of nods greeted his statement, only for Paul to feel a tingling along his spine as he remembered what came next...

What always came next...

...

The cloning tanks with fully-grown, near-adult male krogan lined both sides of the hallway of the breeding facility, their eyes sealed shut. If the STG accomplished their mission, none of them would ever know a waking life. Wrex trembled with anger as he followed Shepard, grating out, "I'm going to tear this whole place down!"

...

The visions from the Virmire beacon flashed before Paul's eyes. The height and the end of Prothean civilization merged almost seamlessly, the screams of the fallen, the howls of the betrayed, the hopelessness felt by those left behind. The final image was of a Reaper, charging from a black planet, completely unstoppable.

...

"You're not even alive. Not really." Paul bit out angrily. "You're just a machine. And machines can be broken."

"**Your words are as empty as your future. I am the vanguard of your destruction. This exchange is over." **A colossal boom roared through the facility and the image of Sovereign faded.

...

Kaidan and Ashley yelled at each other over the radio. Kaidan was up on the Anti-Aircraft tower with a group of salarian troops and Captain Kirrahe, and were drawing fire from a heavily reinforced geth position. Their diversion had given Williams and the Normandy the time they needed to offload the explosive and hopefully get it ready to go.

Wrex suddenly spoke up. "Damn. Geth are sending in some heavy reinforcements." True to his word, a geth troopship soared in towards the bombsite and geth troopers were already falling from it.

Alenko cut in over the radio, "Chief, we just spotted a troopship inbound to your location."

"It's already here, and it's bleeding geth all over the bombsite!"

Paul sighed and asked over the radio, "Can you hold them off, Chief?"

"There's too many of them, Commander. I don't think we can hold out!" Ashley responded. The tone of her voice indicated Ashley knew she was in a hopeless position. Her statement a moment later shocked Shepard. "I'm activating the bomb!"

"Williams, what the hell are you doing!" Paul burst out.

"Making sure this bomb goes off, sir. No matter what." A moment later, an ominous series of electronic buzzing and blatting noises filled the comlink. Ashley stated a moment later, "It's done, Commander. Go get the lieutenant and get the hell out of here!"

"Belay that!" Alenko responded angrily. "We can handle ourselves up here! Shepard, go back and get Williams!"

Paul looked down from the rail he stood on; the waters below churned into a whirlpool. Which felt exactly like his stomach at the moment... But he couldn't hesitate. Not now. Paul Shepard made his decision. "Alenko, radio Joker and tell him to meet us on the AA Tower."

"Yes, Commander, I..." Kaidan's voice trailed off.

"You know it's the right choice, LT!" Ashley's voice was incredibly brave considering her situation...and considering what Shepard had just ordered.

"Hold on, Williams." Shepard ordered, but his voice was weakening. "We'll be there for you before you know it."

"Somehow, I don't think that's going to happen, Commander. But I don't regret a thin-" Ashley's voice was cut off by static. Paul swore as he, Wrex, and Liara charged up the stairs to the Anti-Aircraft Tower.

...

Saren came out of nowhere, throwing biotic attacks all over the place. He rode what was clearly a geth aerial platform, but it was one that Shepard had never seen the geth use before... Paul sprinted to cover, managing to hurl a throw attack at the turian that did absolutely nothing to Saren. A moment later, Saren disembarked, and Paul hefted his Sokolov S-93 shotgun at the turian, firing three bursts. To Paul's horror, the shots didn't even penetrate Saren's kinetic barrier. Saren faced Shepard boldly, not even dignifying the fact that Shepard had fired on him. "This has been a most impressive diversion, Shepard." Saren congratulated him. "My geth were utterly convinced the salarians were the real threat today. Of course, it was all for nothing." The former Spectre said dismissively. "I can't possibly allow you to disrupt what I've accomplished here. You don't understand what's really at stake."

"Sovereign and its kind destroyed the Protheans." Shepard's voice was full of iron. "What else is there to understand?!"

Saren obliged. "You saw the vision from the beacon on Eden Prime, Shepard. And now the one here, on Virmire. If anyone can understand what the Reapers are capable of, it should be you: they cannot be stopped." Saren continued, "You should not involve yourself in a pointless revolt. Do not sacrifice everything for the sake of petty freedoms, Shepard. The Protheans tried to fight, and for that, they were utterly destroyed. Trillions died, and their empire was extinguished at its absolute height. But...what if they had bowed before their invaders?" Saren reasoned. Paul shook his head in dismay. "Would the Protheans still exist? Is not submission preferable to extinction?"

"You really believe the Reapers will let us live?" Liara asked from her position, somewhere in a maze of cargo containers.

"Can you truly be so foolish, Saren?" Paul asked, incredulous.

Saren ignored Liara entirely. "Now do you see why I never brought this forward to the Council, Shepard? We organics are driven by emotion instead of logic. We will fight, even when we know we cannot win. But if we work with the Reapers...if we make ourselves useful to them, can you imagine how many lives might be spared?" Paul knew that answer in the depths of his heart. _None. Not one._ But Saren continued his diatribe relentlessly. "Once I understood this, I joined Sovereign, though I was aware of the...dangers. I had hoped this facility could protect me."

Paul nodded from his position in cover. "You must be afraid Sovereign is manipulating you. You're afraid it's gaining control of your thoughts."

Saren admitted, "I've...studied the effects of indoctrination. The more control Sovereign exerts, the less capable a subject becomes. That is my saving grace. Sovereign needs me to find the Conduit. My mind is still my own...for now. But the transformation from ally to servant can be subtle." Saren seemed to shrug, then said proudly, "I will not let it happen to me."

Paul shook his head again, then realized, _If Saren's suddenly being so cooperative, why not ask him about the geth? Why are they following Sovereign?_ "Why do the geth follow Sovereign, Saren?"

From his position, Paul saw Saren raise a hand almost casually. "They believe Sovereign to be some kind of god. To them, it is the pinnacle of their own evolution. But the reaction of their 'deity' is most telling: it is insulted. Sovereign does not desire the pitiful devotions the geth hurl at it. They are merely tools, and no amount of belief on their part will ever change that."

Shepard stuck his head out from cover just slightly, eyeing another shot at Saren. _He's a Spectre, so he's clearly not an idiot. But he's a turian with a lot of pride. How do I get through to him?_ Paul's mouth formed a tight line as he stated, "Saren, Sovereign's manipulating you and you don't even know it. Whatever you might tell yourself, you're already under its power."

Saren violently shook his head and angrily bit back, "No, Sovereign needs me! If I find the Conduit, I've been promised a reprieve from the inevitable. This is my only hope."

Paul did not relent. "Together, we could stop Sovereign. We don't have to submit to the Reapers, Saren. We can defeat them."

Saren sighed and said unhappily, "I no longer believe that, Shepard. The visions cannot be denied. The Reapers are simply too powerful." He raised a hand demonstratively, "The only hope of survival is to join with them. Sovereign is a machine. It thinks like a machine. If I can prove my value, then I become a resource worth maintaining. There is no other logical conclusion!"

Paul sighed bitterly. _Just like Noveria, diplomacy fails in the face of indoctrination. _"You were a Spectre," Paul Shepard began angrily, "and were sworn to defend the galaxy. And then you broke that vow to save yourself!"

Saren continued denying reality. "I am not doing this for myself! Don't you see? Sovereign will succeed. It is inevitable. My way is the only way that any of us will survive!" His voice took on a more magnanimous tone, "I am forging an alliance between us and the Reapers. Between organics and machines. And in doing so, I will save more lives than have ever existed!" The hairs on the back of Paul Shepard's neck rose as Saren finished. _Sovereign's indoctrination has been working on Saren for longer than I knew. He truly believes what he's saying._

It seemed as though Saren's voice took on increasing anger as the turian went on. "But you would undo my work, Paul Shepard of the Systems Alliance. You would doom our entire civilisation to complete annihilation. And for that...you must die."

Paul broke from cover and fired the Sokolov as quickly as he could at the turian...

...

Kaidan stood to his feet wearily, still recovering from Saren's unexpected biotic assault. Paul supported the injured lieutenant on the Anti-Aircraft Tower as the Normandy approached. It was more of a shuffling gait for the pair of them as Paul too had been injured, but as they stumbled towards the Normandy, they could hear the blaring alarm of the STG explosive. The aerial platform Saren had used roared off into the distance. Paul Shepard knew too well that this wouldn't be the last he saw the last of the former Spectre.

...

One massive explosion broke his dream cycle entirely. Paul Shepard instantly sat upright in the bed, cold sweat running along his ribs and arms as the human Spectre gasped for breath. _Virmire._ He swept his legs out from the bed and stood up, shaking his head as he walked to the bathroom a moment later. He suddenly paused as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. The facial scars of his reconstruction were healing, gradually. The emotional scars never truly healed, though.

Paul Shepard knew he was not the same man who had gone to Virmire and expected everyone to get out alive. He was not the same man who had told Williams that he was going to rescue her...and ultimately, he was not the same man who had failed in that goal.

Kaidan Alenko was alive because of Paul's choice. Ashley Williams was not.

_You could only have saved one of them._ A voice seemed to say from Paul's subconscious mind. _Ashley gave her life in the service of others. She died bringing Saren's twisted experiments to an end. Without her, you would not have succeeded._

Virmire never truly went away in Paul Shepard's mind. The shadow remained, strong, constant... It was a bitter reminder of his worst moment as an Alliance officer. Compared to Virmire, the pain from Akuza was little more than a thumbtack poking his palm._  
_

Paul sighed again as he looked at the clock on his bathroom counter. He'd been asleep for over seven hours. The galaxy never truly slept. A pang of guilt, mixed with no small amount of sorrow, ran through Shepard as the memories of Virmire finally ran their course in his mind. Guilt also ran through his mind as he remembered the other woman in that dream. _Liara T'Soni, why haven't we talked at all? _If she was truly a good information broker, she had to know that he was alive by now.

He opened his personal console a moment later and began typing a message to the e-mail address she'd used in the days immediately after the attack on the Citadel, before the destruction of the Normandy...before his death.

There had been enough silence between them.

Paul knew in his heart there were some things best forgotten. His relationship with Liara T'Soni was not one of them.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wish this had happened. I really do. While I've seen Liara referred to as "present but unavailable", it never really struck me as _right_. Really? She went to an insane effort to save Commander Shepard from death itself, and you don't even get the courtesy of a Horizon-esque conversation with her in Mass Effect 2? **Really**? Let me know what you think of this: it's a bit of a change from my normal chapters and takes place between Mordin's and Archangel's recruitment missions.

* * *

TO: Liara T'Soni

FROM: Paul Shepard

SUBJECT: What I've Been Up To

MESSAGE SENT: 0945, August 2nd, 2185

Liara.

I don't know how to bring this up. I wish I'd sent this e-mail a week ago. Or better yet, the second I woke up. I haven't. I don't have any excuses for that, aside from that I'm once again on a mission where I'm dealing with the usual suspects (you know, a lot of crazy and not much time for rest in between).

I miss you. I've got to be the worst bondmate in the world for not sending this to you sooner. I don't have an excuse for that, again.

I love you, and I hope to see you soon. You're on Ilium, and I'm on Omega right now, but that won't last. As soon as I've recruited our last specialist on Omega, I'm off to Bekenstein. One of my crew has a fairly urgent matter that she'd like me to help her out with. I could definitely use your help, and, just maybe if you're in the area...

You're busy. I understand. It's been two years. I understand that as well. I died. I don't quite understand how Cerberus 'undid' that part, but you have no idea how glad I am to be alive again. I'm not sure what you did for me in the last two years, Liara T'Soni, but I can't thank you enough for it. From what Miranda Lawson says, she wouldn't have been able to bring me back from the dead if you hadn't helped her out.

Thank you for everything, Liara. Hope to see you soon,

Paul Shepard


	15. Chapter 15: Dossier: Archangel, Part 1

1115 HOURS LOCAL TIME, AUGUST 2ND, 2185  
OMEGA NEBULA, SAHRABARIK STAR SYSTEM  
NORMANDY SR-2, Deck 2

It might have been just Kasumi's opinion, but there was a renewed fire behind Paul Shepard's eyes as he walked into the debriefing room that morning. As the meeting went on, she was convinced that it was not her opinion; Paul was fired up in a way she hadn't seen quite before. He reminded her so much of Keiji in the glory days...before...

Unlike before, Keiji's memories did not bring her pain. She suspected that she had no more tears to shed. All of her mourning was done.

She was not motivated by revenge. Killing Donovan Hock could not bring Keiji Okuda back to life. If it were only that simple...

She banished that thought from her mind, focusing on Commander Shepard, who stood at the head of the table. Her fellow squad specialists stood about it, and Paul, rested for the first time in ages, nodded periodically as Miranda Lawson briefed them on the situation. "Archangel is the second specialist we need to pick up from Omega. He's a turian vigilante of sorts, one of the best long-range shots in the Terminus...and he has spent the last several months with a small squad that has taken direct action against the Blue Suns, Eclipse, Blood Pack..." She paused and then added, "If there's a gang on Omega, Archangel has taken it on...and his team come away virtually unscathed every time. He's a genius when it comes to small group logistics, and apparently a very proficient tech expert as well."

"He's exactly the kind of person we need on this team." Paul cut in smoothly, nodding to Miranda in thanks for her work on the briefing. "But getting to him is problematic. It seems that he's attracted more and more unwanted attention based on his strikes on the various gangs. Now, the gangs of Omega are teaming up to take him down."

"That's pretty impressive." Kasumi stated her opinion; she was impressed by that alone. "The Blood Pack and Eclipse certainly can't stand one another. The Blue Suns hate them both equally."

"Exactly." Paul stated. "But there was an incident not too long ago where Archangel's team got suckered in by a trap. Archangel himself wasn't there, and while he was gone, his team got cut to ribbons. By the time he returned, his team was more or less dead, and he had to get out of there before he joined them." Kasumi swore that Paul sighed. _Maybe Shepard feels that if he'd gotten here sooner that Archangel's whole team might still be alive. Damn._

"How do we know all of this, though?" Kasumi asked rhetorically.

Paul Shepard cleared his throat and explained. "EDI has tapped into local transmissions on Omega. Aria T'Loak decided that our ending the plague in the Gozu District merited a few favors. So she told us what she knows about Archangel earlier today." He brought up a display on his omni-tool. "The merc groups have lost a ton of men going after Archangel, and they're now offering anywhere from five hundred to a thousand credits to anyone with a gun who's willing to storm his den."

Miranda nodded. "That sounds like our ticket into the place. Who do you want on this mission, Shepard?"

Paul mused on this for a few moments, then made his decision. "Everyone, if we can manage it. We'll split into two teams once we arrive at the site where this assault is taking place. Miranda, you'll take the lead on the second team with Kasumi and Mordin. Jacob and Grunt, you're with me on entry."

"Right, Shepard." Grunt spoke up in his deep voice.

"We'll likely have to adjust our tactics on the fly as we go along," Paul stated, "but our primary objective before we can get to Archangel's base will be sabotaging any mechs or heavy weapon launchers that the mercs have at their disposal. Chances are that they'll keep a close eye on the guys with the krogan on their squad, which leaves the more attractive members..." He gestured to Kasumi with a slight flourish of the hands, "...of the team to sabotage the more delicate machinery that the mercs have at their disposal."

"An excellent idea," Mordin stated, "but suggest action be taken quickly. Archangel's long-term survival odds...slim against heavy firepower. Good news, though, Blue Suns and Blood Pack not at full strength after actions in Gozu District."

Miranda nodded. "Based on Aria's intel, the Blue Suns have at least one Mantis-class gunship, while the Eclipse have a YMIR mech and multiple LOKI mechs at their disposal. We'll need to account for both of the heavy units before we can try extracting Archangel."

"The recruiting station is in Afterlife." Jacob observed. "But we should grab our gear beforehand."

Shepard looked to Jacob. "I want you and Grunt to accompany me to the recruiting station, Mr. Taylor. We'll rendezvous with the rest of the squad outside Afterlife." Paul headed to the armory without any further word, Jacob and Grunt following behind him.

Kasumi turned to Mordin and Miranda. "So...are we on the sabotage team?"

"Essentially, yes." Miranda confirmed with a nod. "We'll stick close behind the other team, and we'll sabotage their heavy weapons and mechs if we get a crack at them."

"We should be more than capable of doing that." Kasumi said with a small smile underneath her hood.

"Look forward to working with you. Both of you." Mordin said with the tone of a perfectionist in his voice. "My area of expertise lies in the biological sciences. Still, am more than capable of sabotaging electronic equipment." He smiled loosely.

"The pleasure is ours, professor." Miranda responded with a smile of her own. Kasumi nodded as well, her thoughts momentarily turning to Bekenstein. She definitely had Paul's formal clothing already chosen, and her plans were falling into fruition. According to her intel, Hock had hired Eclipse mercenaries to guard his estate. About seventy or so of them. Biotics, weapons experts, tech experts...and she didn't even know how many mechs he would have.

Kasumi banished any thoughts of the despicable Donovan Hock from her mind as she followed Miranda and Mordin to the armory a moment later. As she went, she accessed her omni-tool and began working on a new set of hacking routines and command pathways. She anticipated tangling with Eclipse. The master thief looked forward to testing her technical expertise against the best they had to offer on Omega.

* * *

In the armory, Paul admired the setup for a few moments, seeing that five M-22 Eviscerator shotguns sat on the bottom shelf of the armory, their silver plates gleaming in the fluorescent lights. They were nestled next to a pair of modified M-23 Katana shotguns, with an array of pistols above them. Shepard noticed many, many M-3 Predator pistols, but he realized that these had to be the most common sidearm for the crew. There were enough M-6 Carnifex pistols for three of his specialists at the most, after which the Predators and the Phalanx pistols came into account. There were almost a dozen Avenger assault rifles on the top rack, all neatly lined up, and at the very top was a Kassa Frabrications Harpoon-71 Sniper Rifle that had _clearly_ seen better days.

Jacob took up an unusual looking weapon from the main table in the armory and placed it down in front of Shepard for emphasis after he'd chosen the C-105 Crossfire Assault Rifle, an M-22 Eviscerator Shotgun, and an M-5 Phalanx. "This is a special kind of heavy weapon, which the Cerberus lab techs refer to as Arc Projector." Jacob explained. "Cerberus encountered it after a Geth assault in the Bougainville System about a year ago, and they've been trying to crack it ever since. Shepard, I had the occasion to test it in the cargo hold, and I can tell you that this weapon cuts through shields like nothing I've seen before, even on large-scale shield generators. Biotic barriers don't stand much of a chance against a blast from the Arc Projector, and it can fry armor almost as effectively." He added, "The labs have managed to scale down the weapon so it'll fit into that back niche on your armor, next to your assault rifle, Commander."

"It'll come in handy against the Blue Suns and Eclipse if it's extremely effective against shields." Paul nodded. "I've never heard of the Bougainville System. Where is it?"

"It's somewhere in the Armstrong Nebula." Jacob shrugged. "Not sure where in the Nebula it is exactly, but that Geth attack sounded like a pretty nasty incident all around, and no one came away from that situation victorious."

Part of Shepard wanted to see Cerberus taken down a peg, but it also didn't bode well if the Geth were launching assaults into the Armstrong Nebula again. He voiced the latter of the two concerns. "Have the Geth made any further attacks in that cluster?"

Jacob shook his head. "Not since their stunt at Bougainville, sir. I read your file, and you personally busted up a major Geth offensive in the Armstrong Nebula." He smiled in admiration at that, showing his near-flawless teeth. "It felt good hearing that announcement, especially after Eden Prime went down." The former Alliance Marine looked down, lost in his own thoughts.

"I had some help from an excellent quarian engineer and an Alliance Marine who never gave up on stopping that offensive." Shepard's stomach turned slightly at the thought of Ashley Williams and his smile faded as quickly as it appeared. "Maybe I can tell you about how we took on a pair of Geth Colossi at the same time later."

"I'd love to hear that story, Shepard." Jacob smiled again as Shepard picked up the Arc Projector, looking it over. "Here, I can show you how to hold the Arc Projector." He offered to take the heavy weapon from Shepard and Paul handed it back to him. Jacob demonstrated the hold position, the firing stance, and also how to stow the unusual weapon over his back. "It doesn't take thermal clips, for some weird reason. Most Geth tech that we captured does. My theory is that the Arc Projector's power supply demands a much larger power source. Those power cells we picked up recruiting the Professor will work fine for now, but this weapon will chew through them pretty quickly."

Paul nodded slightly, considering the weapons they had at their disposal. He turned to Grunt, who had been rather silent as he looked over the weapons in the armory. "Grunt, think you could carry the M-100?"

Jacob looked a little hesitant to allow that to happen. Grunt nodded at once and hefted the heavy weapon without so much as a noise of exertion, folding it over his back and fitting it into the huge center niche on his back plating. "Done, Shepard. Nice heft to the launcher...hope I'll get to use it soon." He added with a low laugh that made Paul shudder a bit.

"That chance will come sooner rather than later with the forces going after Archangel." Shepard pointed out grimly. "Jacob, ready to go?"

Jacob quickly picked up an M-22 Eviscerator and an M-3 Predator, nodding at once. "I'm ready to move, Commander."

A moment later, the infiltration team entered the room, Mordin, Kasumi, and Miranda all choosing similar weapons. Miranda hefted the M-92 Mantis that the team had acquired on Korlus and stowed it over her back. It never hurt to have more than one long-range expert, after all. Once Kasumi and Mordin had chosen their pistols, Shepard smiled as he stowed the Arc Projector in his armor. The expression was not a pleasant one. "Let's get to that recruiting station and recruit our turian vigilante."

* * *

OMEGA, AFTERLIFE

"...You'll get paid when the job is done, just like everyone else." A batarian in Blue Suns armor stated in a bored tone of voice as Paul Shepard, Jacob Taylor, and Grunt entered the recruiting station. The Blue Suns recruiting officer was speaking to a pair of freelance mercenaries, both of whom wore composite ceramic armor. Neither set appeared particularly solid. _That's light armor at best_, Paul thought, _and according to the dossier, Archangel is an incredible sniper. Sniper rounds will chew holes the size of a gas giant through that level of protection._

"Next!" The batarian called out as the freelancers left the room. Jacob and Paul took a quick look at their weapons and nodded to each other, slightly. _They're dead meat._ Jacob's eyes seemed to say. "You three look like you can handle yourselves." The Blue Suns recruiter said approvingly. "We could use that kind of firepower on this assault, too. Looking for a good fight?" The batarian asked.

Paul nodded ever so slightly and stated in a flat, almost bored tone "Sure, if this is the place to go after Archangel."

The batarian's expression became resigned. "This is the place." He looked down at the console he stood in front of, saying emotionlessly, "Standard fee is 500 credits each. You get paid when the job is done. If you die, your friends don't collect your share." The recruiting officer sighed. "And no, participating in this does _not _make you a member of the Eclipse, Blood Pack, or Blue Suns. You are a freelancer." The batarian crossed his hands vehemently. "Period." The batarian looked Paul Shepard squarely in the eyes. "Any questions?"

"Other than where do we go? No." Paul stated.

The recruiter gestured to the exit of Afterlife. "Just go to the transport depot on the street opposite the club. One of our boys will pick you up and take you from there." The batarian queued his suit radio. "Send in the next one." He ordered, sounding more and more bored after every minute.

To Shepard's surprise, Miranda, Kasumi, and Mordin arrived. Instead of wearing her normal Cerberus uniform, Miranda wore Titan Light Armor that did far more for her modesty. Given the amount of firepower they were up against, Paul wasn't surprised in the slightest that she'd chosen something with greater damage protection. Kasumi and Mordin, however, were content to stay in their normal gear.

What did irritate him was when the batarian recruiter smiled eerily at Miranda. "Well, aren't you sweet." He pointed out the door. "You're in the wrong place, honey; stripper's quarters are that way."

Miranda nonchalantly pulled the M-6 Carnifex from her side and toyed with it. "Show me yours, tough guy. I'm going to guess mine's bigger."

The recruiting officer visibly took a step back and gulped. "Impressive." He hastily brought up the console again. "So...you're here to fight, then?"

"You could say that." Miranda responded coolly, stowing the Carnifex Hand Cannon at her side again. Paul's eyes literally glazed over as the recruiting officer gave Miranda the same spiel he had been given not even a minute earlier. As Miranda accepted the freelancer commission for her half of the team, Paul gestured to Grunt and Jacob that they should head out. The plan had been discussed already, after all.

"Send in the next recruit." The batarian officer said unhappily.

The doors to the recruiting station opened as Paul Shepard headed out with his team at his back. A very young human man walked in a moment later, asking, "Hey, is this where I sign up?"

Paul turned back and said a little worriedly, "You look just a little young to be freelancing as a merc..."

"I'm old enough." The young man responded testily. "I grew up on Omega; I know how to use a gun!"

Jacob shrugged and sighed, the former Alliance marine saying, "And so does Archangel."

Grunt sighed. "He's young _and_ foolish. Dead in the first wave." Grunt was extremely young for a krogan, but Shepard knew damned well the truth of his words.

"I can handle myself!" The Omega native protested. "Besides, I just spent 50 credits on this pistol, and I want to use-" Paul saw the pistol, an Elanus Risk Control Services manufactured Predator, in the kid's hand. An M-3 Predator pistol. In the hands of a teenager. Paul realized very quickly, _He **will** get himself killed, just like Grunt said. _Paul hastily stepped in. "Hey, what-"

With a single gesture, Paul drew the kid close to him, giving him a look that said, _I know way better than you, kid,_ and took the Predator pistol. With a single jerk, Paul removed the sight. Almost half of the pistol's barrel snapped off as well, the weapon was _that_ weakly constructed. Handing the pieces of the broken pistol (and the broken dreams of 500 credits) back to the kid, Paul murmured, "I was an Alliance Officer. You know crap equipment when you see it. Kid, get your money back if you can. You'll thank me for this later." As Paul's team left for the transport depot, the disillusioned young man looked down in dismay, leaving the recruiting station a moment later.

Outside of Afterlife on the main boulevard, Paul's team was joined by Miranda's a moment later. "Everything okay with second team so far, Miranda?" Both teams went into a sidestreet where eavesdropping was unlikely.

"Aside from that pig of a recruiting officer, yes." Miranda said with a frosty smile. "He saw sense easily enough."

"Where'd you get the armor?" Paul asked discreetly.

"I asked Jacob to keep an eye out for something solid in the markets when you spoke to Aria earlier." Miranda stated nonchalantly.

Jacob nodded and spoke up, "It's Rosenkov Materials Titan-series Armor. It'll hold up to a lot, especially with the capacitor upgrades."

"I won't ask how you found either of them." Paul murmured jokingly. "Knowing this place, you probably had to throw someone through a window." Jacob and Miranda both smiled at that.

Kasumi spoke up in a low voice, "Looks like that's how we get to Archangel." She gestured slightly to a rapid transit car with a Blue Sun standing idly in front.

"That's it." Paul nodded. Grunt and Jacob followed behind him. As Paul approached the Blue Suns driver, he said confidently, "We're on the mission."

"I hope you're ready." The batarian driver said firmly, concern creeping into his voice. "Archangel's been _annihilating_ you freelancers."

"We're ready to go." Paul stated firmly. The batarian nodded and the car opened, allowing the team access. Moments later, the car raced away through the blinding lights and glare of Omega. Down the bulk of the jellyfish-like station they went...to Archangel's lair.


	16. Chapter 16: Dossier: Archangel, Part 2

1152 HOURS LOCAL TIME, AUGUST 2ND, 2185  
KIMA DISTRICT, OMEGA, SAHRABARIK STAR SYSTEM

The ride in the aircar was cramped and uncomfortable. Miranda and Shepard did an excellent job of giving each other the cold shoulder, as real mercenaries would have done. If they pulled off their cards just right, the two teams were competing for Archangel's head...not trying to rescue him. Kasumi and Mordin both gave diffident glances to Jacob, who gave the salarian scientist a mock glare every now and then.

After a brisk ride lasting the better part of ten minutes, the driver finally wheeled the car up and brought it into a parking area gently, between several other cars. Paul made not of them inwardly. _Those aircars are almost certainly how the bulk of the mercenaries got into the district. That looks like a modified Mantis gunship at the end of the boulevard, but I can't see any weapons and it's been shot up before now. That's probably how the Blood Pack got on site; you need something that can carry your manpower._ He made careful note of the main boulevard of Archangel's district. _There's not enough room for the gunship or the aircars to get close, not with those buildings jutting down... _Omega's zany architectural structure...or lack thereof...made Paul Shepard dizzy.

"What's the best way to get down off a goose?" Jacob quipped.

Shepard smiled at the old joke, common among Alliance Marines. "What are you doing on a goose in the first place?"

Jacob smiled a bit. He returned to his exchange of unhappy expressions at Mordin Solus as the shuttle landed. All six squad members tried as quickly as they could to get out of the aircar, which had gotten progressively stuffier. Miranda gave Jacob a shove, to which Paul made no response as a Blue Suns officer strode up, a batarian wearing the uniform of an officer. The batarian nodded appreciatively and stated, "It's about damn time they sent me someone who looks like they can actually fight..." Looking over the team members, he asked, "My name's Salkie. Did they tell you what we're up against?"

Paul shrugged. "The recruiter sounded pretty vague."

Salkie nodded knowingly. "Well, we wouldn't get many hires if everyone knew the truth." He pointed to a large apartment structure at the end of the main street. "Archangel's holed up in a building at the end of the boulevard." He gestured for the six squad members to move out of the main street behind a much smaller structure. "He's got the advantage of superior positioning: the only way in is over a very exposed footbridge." The sergeant sighed. "It's a killing ground. But he's getting tired. He's starting to make some sloppy mistakes. We'll get him soon enough."

Paul asked casually, "Do you guys have a plan?"

The batarian responded in a low voice, "A small team is in position ahead, waiting for the go-ahead to infiltrate his hideout. We need to draw Archangel's fire so they can move in."

Miranda sighed and stated caustically, "So that's where we come in."

Salkie nodded. "Exactly. You'll be part of a distraction team. You'll head over the bridge and put Archangel under a small planet's worth of suppressing fire, giving the infiltration team time to sneak in behind."

Jacob spoke up doubtfully. "Sounds like suicide to me."

Salkie shrugged and said in a placating tone, "Pretty much. But you look like you can handle it. Head up to the boulevard and get to the third barricade. You'll talk to Sergeant Cathka. He'll tell you when to go in."

Paul asked. "Where's the infiltration team now?"

"They're on the far side of the bridge, near his hideout." Salkie explained. "They just can't get any closer without being seen."

"So...how'd they make it over the bridge unnoticed to begin with?" Kasumi asked.

"More distractions," Salkie began, "Tarak used a gunship to keep Archangel busy. We were able to get a few men across the bridge before Archangel shot the crap out of the gunship, but they're stuck there now." The batarian sighed. "We'll have to move soon, before Archangel can pick them off one by one. His focus has to be on the bridge, not on the team that's already on his side."

"Bridge the only way to hideout..." Mordin murmured. "Archangel must have acted preemptively."

Salkie confirmed this. "Indeed. Archangel collapsed all the underground passageways and sealed every door to the lower levels. There are teams digging their way through, but it's taking too long." Salkie mused aloud. "If they can get the gunship airborne again, it'll help, but I'm hoping that the infiltration team can just finish the job and we can all go home."

"They used a gunship trying to take out one man?" Paul asked, amazement creeping into his voice.

Salkie nodded gravely. "Yeah, and Archangel shot it down." Paul kept his jaw from dropping. "He didn't vape it, but he knew where to hit to knock it out of commission." The batarian looked down shamefacedly. "That wasn't even a fair fight. Certainly not for us."

"What do you know about Archangel, Salkie?" Paul used the batarian's name.

Salkie coughed and stated, "I'm the wrong guy to ask. I just handle logistics. Tarak and the other bosses have dealt with him for a while now." As Paul and Miranda turned to leave, Salkie said cautiously, "Just don't be too surprised if none of them are too thrilled to be talking to a freelancer."

"We'd better find Sergeant Cathka, then." Paul rolled his shoulders around.

"Good idea. Watch yourself on that boulevard. Archangel's killed dozens out there already." Salkie turned his head as another aircar arrived, carrying a group of Eclipse soldiers, and left to make sure everything was in order.

"Getting in will be easy." Kasumi murmured after the batarian had left. "Getting out will be fun."

"We'll find him first." Paul stated. "Then we'll figure out how to get him back from there." Kasumi suddenly vanished from sight under tactical cloak, and Miranda and Mordin adjusted their posture to appear more hostile to their "rival" mercenaries. Paul took this as his team's cue to leave.

EDI chimed in over his suit radio. "Shepard, I've scanned the area, but I am unable to plot any other paths to Archangel."

Paul nodded as he, Grunt, and Jacob headed off to the boulevard first. "Guess we're headed with the mercs."

The boom of a sniper rifle shot punctured the air, followed by a distinctly salarian yell of pain. "Get that bleeding fool out of the damn street already!" A voice called out. Paul took cover behind a barricade, looking down to see three others not too far ahead. The Eclipse managed this barricade, and one of their own cried out with pain from further ahead. A medic arrived on the scene and Paul watched the human medic tend to the salarian's sniper rifle wound. Another human suddenly stood and fired a spray of assault rifle fire towards the apartment in the distance.

Paul shook his head as his team crossed the boulevard. Kasumi had likely sabotaged a couple aircars by now.

Three salarians sat inside the first building that Paul's entered into. One of them stated, "As the first wave goes in, the infiltration team will attempt to take Archangel by surprise. I really don't expect much out of the freelancers. When they fail, we're up next." Paul ignored the Eclipse officers but noticed a PDA on a console nearby. Grunt noticed it too and moved between Paul and the salarians' line of sight. Paul pocketed the datapad without a second thought. _We're not their friends._ He thought disgustedly as he left. "The light mechs are up next. If that's not enough, we'll send in the heavy. Be prepared." The salarian officer pounded on the table once for emphasis.

Paul and his team left the Eclipse officers to their planning. Paul looked over the PDA and his eyes widened. He turned to Jacob and said in a low murmur, "Someone's going to appreciate this, and it sure isn't the Eclipse." Grunt heard this too, and both nodded.

_ Tarak:_

_ I've spoken to Garm, and he and his men are on board. Assuming this operation is successful, we can count on high morale and extensive buy-in from the men. From the losses we've already taken, possibility exists that we won't have the men needed to continue on to the next objective. It's clear, though that none of our organizations would be ready to move on Aria without the assistance of the other two._

_ Jaroth_

Paul noticed the YMIR mech down a side street a moment later, only for someone to shove him in the back. He staggered and then sighed at the sight of his executive officer. "Pardon me!" Miranda snarled at Shepard. Paul turned to her, folded his arms in an unimpressed manner, and returned her glare. _I __**hope**__ this is all play-acting._ Shepard thought as Miranda and Mordin practically swaggered up to the heavy mech, Mordin taking up a PDA that lay on a nearby table. Miranda whispered, "Nicely done. It'll be hostile if they activate it." She stated to someone standing to her left. Paul thought he saw the silhouette of Kasumi, but turned to the next building. A pair of vorcha stood on the barricade, both snarling at the sight of Paul's team. Another boom echoed throughout the boulevard and one of the vorcha fell from the barricade, bleeding profusely from a head wound. He didn't even have the chance to cry out.

Paul shook his head and hastily crossed the boulevard again, picking up a PDA that was crudely labeled, _Protection Accounts_. A moment later, he had sliced through the PDA's pathetic level of security and was now 4,000 credits the richer for it. _And at the expense of the Blood Pack, to boot._

A pair of doors opened and another vorcha snarled, "Filthy human..." Paul sighed but then looked to the left of the vorcha, where a huge krogan, his face scarred from several battles, sat. The krogan had an air similar to Wrex, and while he appeared to be resting for now, Paul knew that krogan, especially krogan biotics, were capable of unleashing incredible violence on a whim all the same. There was tension in the air. Grunt looked at the seated krogan and sniffed slightly.

The seated krogan murmured in a gravelly voice, "You're in the wrong place, freelancer."

Shepard stepped forward and asked boldly, "Are you the Blood Pack leader?"

The krogan answered coolly, "Name's Garm. That's all you need to know." He turned his great head to Grunt and asked, "Why are you following this human, young one?"

Grunt looked to Shepard and smiled slightly. For a krogan, that was always an intimidating gesture. "Why not? He is the strongest warrior I've seen."

Garm's voice contained tacit disapproval. "You should be learning from your own kind."

Shepard folded his arms over each other and raised an eyebrow. "Why is that the case? What else does he need?"

"He should know how to live and die without fear." Garm answered; his voice icy as he pulled a Scimitar shotgun from his back and pointed it at the vorcha that stood beside him. The vorcha turned his head slightly, and Garm fired a mere instant later. The vorcha's head flew across the room. "And how to put that fear in the heart of any that should face you."

Paul and Jacob, both sickened by the on-the-spot extermination, took a step back. Grunt, however, stated supportively, "Shepard does that. And more."

"If you say so." Garm sounded unconvinced. "I'm stuck here waiting until you freelancers are done playing war. Ask your questions and go."

"Why are the Blood Pack on Omega?" Paul asked.

"We're the muscle on this damned rock." Garm answered politely enough. "You need protection or somebody removed, you talk to us. The Blood Pack are everywhere on Omega. So everybody loves us, and everybody hates us."

"It sounds like Archangel just hates you." Jacob said dryly.

Garm responded wearily, "He's just an uptight turian ass. I don't care what he thinks. But he's costing me men, and making me _work_ for my money." Pointing to himself, Garm stated, "I'll be the one to take him out today. You just watch. I'm the only one here who's fought him one on one."

"Personal experience...that's how you learn how to take someone down." Paul stated, his voice coming across as somewhat approving. "What do you know about Archangel?"

"He's a pain in the ass." Garm answered in a displeased tone of voice. "And he's a turian, which makes him slightly worse to look at than _you_. And he's brave...until he realizes you're more than he bargained for. He tried to take me down once...waited until I was alone. Longest damn fight of my life." The krogan muttered. "But I held him off until my men showed up. He wasn't so tough after that. We chased him all over the district, and almost had him." The krogan closed a fist. "But the slippery bastard got away before we could pin him down."

Paul interpreted events differently. _What kind of krogan is he if he can't take down a lone turian by himself and needs backup to get his dirty work done?_ "Nice talking to you." Paul said. "But we should get going."

"It's about time." Garm looked down dispassionately at the decapitated corpse of the vorcha as Paul and his team hastily left.

The last barricade before the footbridge was ahead, and a group of human freelancers, including the two Paul had seen at the recruiting station, crouched as they ran across. "Watch out!" One of the veteran freelancers called out just as one freelancer stood on the barricade to provide suppression fire. A sniper shot instantly cut that freelancer down. Shepard caught a glimpse of the elusive Archangel and swore that helmet was awfully familiar. A moment later, Archangel stood bolt-upright and fired a round right at Paul's stomach.

Stars blazed merrily before Paul Shepard's eyes as the shot knocked him flat on his back, driving the wind out of his lungs. _Concussive shot...damn, that hurt!_ He hastily rolled out of the boulevard and into cover. "Archangel got you good, Shepard." Jacob said in a low whisper.

"I know...I just need a few seconds to catch my breath." Paul gasped, breathing heavily in and out. _That hurt, but it doesn't feel like anything's broken._

"Sergeant Cathka's on the other side of the boulevard." One of the nearby freelancers, an older human with greying sideburns, pointed to a gunship. "He's working on that sucker for now. You should get over to him ASAP."

"Will do." Paul said, his breath finally back after a good fifteen seconds or so. He fairly sprinted across the street a moment later, Grunt and Jacob not too far behind him. Some moments later, Miranda, Kasumi, and Mordin joined them, keeping some distance back. A group of freelance mercenaries stood by the gunship, looking bored as ever despite the occasional crackles of weapons fire coming from the boulevard behind them. "Cathka?" Paul asked one of the mercs. The merc pointed lazily back over his shoulder at a batarian, who was welding some damaged electrical components on the underside of the gunship. He held a handheld projector and swore audibly as something didn't go quite the way he wanted it to.

The batarian stepped back and stood to his full height, his visor tinted to keep the blinding light of the arc projector from blinding him. "Sergeant Cathka." He corrected Paul, pressing a control on the side of his helmet that removed the silvery tint from his visor. He nodded. "Ah, you must be the group that Salkie mentioned."

"You were waiting for us." Paul observed. Cathka confirmed this with another nod.

"The infiltration team is about to give us the signal." Cathka stated. "Archangel won't know what hit him. Got any questions?" Cathka put down the handheld arc projector and pulled a lighter out from a desk drawer. A moment later, Cathka lit a cigarette as well. "This might be your last chance to ask before everything goes up."

Paul decided to ask, "Are you going to give us any sort of cover fire with the gunship?"

"Heh." Cathka said quietly. "Tarak is the only one who flies her. Besides, she's not quite ready. That bastard Archangel gave her quite a beating the last team she was up in the air. A few more tweaks and she'll be as good as new."

Paul nodded but waved away the smoke from Cathka's fuming cigarette, which smelled unlike anything that Paul had detected from a cigarette before. "Are you going to be helping us out? Or leading the assault?"

Cathka laughed dismissively, but there was a hint of worry in his voice. "Tarak doesn't pay me to fight, human. I'm just fixing up the gunship for now and coordinating the assault. You freelancers get the privilege of-"

The distinct sound of a turian voice came over the radio at that moment. "Cathka, infiltration team is moving in."

"Check. Bravo team – go, go, go!" The group of freelancers moved out almost as a single unit, but they were sloppy as they readied their weapons. Paul sighed at the sight of them. _Not the most disciplined group in the world. _Kasumi, nonplussed by their passing so close to her, pickpocketed at least three thermal clips without anyone so much as suspecting her. Cathka said confidently, "Archangel's got quite a surprise waiting for him." He pushed of the desk and stood. "Well, guess that means no more waiting for me! I've got to get the old girl back to 100% before Tarak decides he 'needs' her again..." Cathka tinted his visor and walked back to the panel he'd been inspecting earlier. Paul picked up the handheld projector, tempted to jab the batarian in the back with it. Before doing so, he dialed the power down such that it would almost certainly knock Cathka out cold.

The last words that Sergeant Cathka heard were a low human voice suggesting, "You're working too hard for such a brave man. Take a nap." He turned, and then his entire world went black as pain surged through his body from head to toe. He fell to the ground without so much as a single sound. The arc projector fell out of his back and clattered to the deck a moment later.

* * *

The last of the true freelancers loaded an Avenger assault rifle and charged over the barricade. Miranda murmured to Shepard, her antagonism no longer necessary with the mercs that might have blown their cover gone. "Archangel doesn't have much time left."

Kasumi cut in, "Well, we've got nothing better to do. Let's go."

Paul nodded, vaulting over the barricade. Ahead, a freelancer fired a pair of rocket propelled grenades into the upper area of the apartment. Archangel stood mere instants after both exploded harmlessly, and a single crack later, the freelancer with the M-100 hit the deck, bleeding out through his upper chest. The other freelancers fired, but their suppressing fire was so erratic and Archangel was so confident in his kinetic barrier that he fired almost the instant he'd reloaded. Paul caught sight of Archangel's rifle, a Punisher-series sniper rifle. Based on how quickly Archangel was firing, it had to be either a Punisher-9 or Punisher-10.

Miranda's point still stood, as several mercenaries had made it almost to the front area...before Archangel felled two with a single shot. "Come on." Paul said to the team, cracking his knuckles. "We'll give these guys a surprise of our own."

Shepard's squad drew their weapons almost as one. As soon as they had crossed the street, Paul took up his C-105 Crossfire Assault rifle, equipped Incendiary Rounds, and opened fire on an explosive device that a pair of freelancers attempted to arm. His shots had the desired effect; the device exploded on the spot and both freelancers standing over it were instantly killed. "He's with Archangel!" One of the freelancers yelled out in alarm, only for Miranda to shoot him down with her M-6 Carnifex.

Another sniper rifle shot tore through the air as Archangel blasted a freelancer on the rear stairs. Submachine gun fire filled the air, after which, Paul thought heard some turian swear words from above. There were three freelancers left, and as Paul charged up from the stairs, he unleashed a withering hail of fire from his assault rifle at the end of the hall. Grunt stepped up next to Shepard and joined in with glee, the Kovalyov assault rifle thrumming. Moments later, all three of the remaining freelancers were down for the count.

Paul queued the door to open, only to run straight into a security firewall. It was one that his omni-tool couldn't overwhelm, but it _was_ using an algorithm that he'd seen someone else run...Tali, perhaps? Kasumi hastily stepped forward and within moments, the master technician had defeated the door lock.

Paul and his team entered the room where Archangel sat, hunched at a balcony, sniper rifle at the ready. Paul held the Crossfire ready, asking, "Archangel?"

The turian sniper held up a fist. Paul took the hint and stepped back. Archangel appeared to be staring down the sights of the Punisher Sniper Rifle, staring down his target...and then, one loud crack and a sickening gurgle later, the last of the infiltration team hit the deck, bleeding from a grotesque throat wound. The turian dispassionately stood to his feet, walked over to a couch, and then removed his helmet. A moment later, he looked up, and Paul's face broke into a wide smile as he recognized Archangel. "Commander Paul Shepard." Garrus Vakarian said appreciatively. "I thought you were dead."

"Garrus!" Paul's spread his arms wide and smiled, stowing the Crossfire assault rifle over his back. "What are you doing here?"

Garrus smiled a bit himself and responded nonchalantly, "Just keeping my skills sharp with a little target practice."

"Are you all right?" Paul asked, concerned for his friend.

Garrus shrugged. "I've been better, but it sure is good to see a friendly face." He looked to the boulevard. "Killing mercs is hard work...especially on my own."

"You got me pretty good at least once." Shepard shrugged himself.

Garrus looked away for a moment, then explained. "Concussive rounds only. No harm done, I hope?" Paul nodded. "I didn't want the mercs to get too suspicious."

"Uh-huh." Paul wryly folded his arms, unimpressed by that explanation.

Garrus gave Paul a knowing look. "If I had wanted to take more than just your shields down, I'd have done it. Besides..." He looked out at the boulevard, surveying the scene. "You were taking your sweet time. I needed to get you moving." Paul wished at once that he'd arrived sooner.

"Were those bodybags down there, Garrus?" Paul asked in a low voice.

"Yes." Garrus responded. "But I'd rather not talk about it."

"Got it." Paul said morosely, then asked, "Well, since when did you start calling yourself Archangel?"

Garrus shrugged. "It's just a name the locals gave me...for all my good deeds." He looked away again and then coughed politely, his mandibles flaring. "I don't mind it, but...please. It's just plain, simple 'Garrus' to you."

Kasumi decided to speak up. "So, Garrus, how'd you piss off every major mercenary organization in the Terminus?"

The turian sniper inclined his head slightly and admitted. "Well, it wasn't easy, that's for certain. I _really_ had to work at it. I am amazed they teamed up to fight me. They must really hate me." Garrus pointed out.

"What brought you to Omega? Weren't you going to go back and apply to be a Spectre?" Paul asked, wondering whether that last question had ever happened.

Garrus looked down disgustedly. "I got fed up with all the bureaucratic crap on the Citadel. I figured I could do more good on my own." He looked at the dead freelancers and then out at the main boulevard at the mercenaries gathering on the other side of the barricade. "At least it's not hard to find criminals here. All I have to do is point my gun and shoot."

Mordin pointed out, "We're inside. Getting out, however...problematic." The salarian scientist pursed his lips together.

Shepard hastily introduced the members of his team. "Garrus, this is Miranda Lawson, my XO. Jacob Taylor, armor specialist and biotic support, Professor Mordin Solus, scientific analysis and biological savant, Kasumi Goto, technical master, and Grunt, pure firepower and krogan strength. Squad, this is Garrus Vakarian. He saved my life at least a couple times when we were hunting for Saren."

"Professor, you're right." Garrus said after introductions were complete. "That bridge has saved my life more times than I can count, funneling all those witless idiots into scope." He stood and walked over to Paul, gazing again through his visor at the bridge beyond. "But it works both ways." He pointed to the bridge now. "They'll slaughter us if we try to get out that way."

Miranda spoke up, her tone questioning. "So do we just sit here and wait for them to take us out?"

Garrus countered, "It's not all that bad." He looked around the apartment building and voiced his thoughts aloud. "This place has held them off pretty well thus far. And with six of you..." The turian paused thoughtfully and then nodded. "I suggest that we hold this location, whittle their numbers down, wait for a crack in their defenses, and then we take our chances." Garrus shrugged again. "It isn't a perfect plan, but it's a plan."

"How'd you get into this position in the first place?" Paul asked quietly.

Garrus shook his head. "My feelings got in the way of my better judgment. It's a long damn story." He looked out at the forces gathering on the bridge. "I'll make you a deal: you get me out of here alive, and I'll tell you the whole damn thing."

Paul nodded and stated. "If we fight as a team, we'll hold them off for certain."

Garrus smiled. "There's that legendary confidence! But you're right; their numbers won't help them in here, anyway." Taking up the Punisher sniper rifle, he walked over to the window and murmured what he saw through his visor and the rifle's scope. "Let's see what they're up to..."

Handing the rifle to Shepard, Garrus offered, "Take a look. Scouts, Eclipse by the look of them."

Paul took up the rifle, but confirmed the sighting and handed it back. "That looks like more than just scouts."

"Agreed." Garrus nodded. "We'd better get ready." He pointed to the cover of the window, and stated, "I'll stay up here, I can do a lot of damage from this location." Looking to Shepard, Garrus said, "You...you can do what you do best."

Paul looked to his squad and decided what his tactics would be then and there then and there. "Miranda, you can provide sniper fire from here with Garrus. Mordin, you'll stay up here too and provide suppression fire. Kasumi, Jacob, bunker up down by the front entrance. Grunt, you'll take that first pillar, I'll take the other. we'll give these guys a trial by fire they won't forget."

"Just like old times, Shepard." Garrus said approvingly, moving to cover as Miranda and Mordin took up position at the other windows. "Let's give these bastards everything we've got!"

Paul, Jacob, Kasumi, and Grunt moved quickly to the stairs, Kasumi and Jacob hanging back behind cover of the front lounge area. Jacob had picked up an M-15 Vindicator Battle Rifle from where it had sat next to Garrus, and he began laying down murderously accurate fire on the approaching Eclipse LOKI mechs. Shepard and Grunt took up position at the columns on their side of the bridge, assault rifles at the ready. Within moments, fire from above and below had scrapped every single LOKI mech before they made it past the second pillar of the bridge, leaving a tangled mess of mechanical parts all over the bridge. Paul and Grunt took their cues from each other. As one stopped firing to reload, the other picked up the pace. Grunt was firing high-impact blasts with such speed that the approaching Eclipse biotics were almost stopped in their tracks. As Paul loaded up another thermal clip, he noticed a salarian toting a nasty looking sniper rifle and warned, "Heads up, people! They're deploying snipers!"

"Got it!" Jacob confirmed. "Watch your heads, everyone!"

"Going dark!" Kasumi notified the team, vanishing from sight. Moments later, the salarian sniper hit the deck, a tanto in the back. Kasumi hastily pulled her weapon free and withdrew under cover of her tactical cloak. As she took up her position alongside Jacob, she brought up her omni-tool and input a command sequence. There was a pair of twin booms in the distance, followed the sound of panicked yelling. The master thief smiled; her earlier sabotage had been on the aircars. While the mercs weren't totally dissuaded from going after the team, they did have to attend to that lovely set of explosions.

"Scoped and dropped!" Garrus called out proudly as he took down an Eclipse Vanguard with a headshot.

"Hostile combat drone!" Miranda warned, taking aim at it with the Mantis sniper rifle. Shepard and Grunt located the salarian engineer who'd summoned the drone, and proceeded to light up his tech armor with combined assault rifles. The salarian yelled in alarm as twin trails of incendiary ammunition scorched into his armor and finally detonated it, Moments later, the salarian hit the deck, his regular armor burning about him.

The firefight continued unabated, but Paul Shepard's team was not relenting. Wave after wave of mechs mantled the barrier, only to meet almost solid streams of fire. But it couldn't last forever.


	17. Chapter 17: Dossier: Archangel, Part 3

ARCHANGEL'S BASE, OMEGA  
TIME UNKNOWN, AUGUST 2ND, 2185

The steady thrum of assault rifle fire from Paul Shepard and Grunt on the bridge was beginning to tell on the Eclipse. "Eclipse hasn't even gotten close to us yet." Garrus stated approvingly over the radio.

"Let's make sure it stays that way, then!" Paul responded as he unloaded assault rifle fire on the approaching mercenaries. A crack punctuated the air from above as Miranda shot down a mercenary with her Mantis sniper rifle. Another harsh boom rent the air as Garrus snapped off a quick shot at a mercenary on the other side of the barricade. His target, a lithe human woman, grasped her chest as she hit the deck, the Punisher-9 Sniper Rifle driving a round through her kinetic barrier and squashing against her armor. The bleed damage had to be a real pain...

He crouched down just as Jaroth, the salarian head of the Eclipse, came into view. "If you want something done properly..." Garrus's eyebrow twitched as he heard Jaroth's voice. If he could get just one shot at Jaroth, this would be worth it... "All right, let's see how you handle _this_, Archangel!"

Garrus's ears could make out a distinctive mechanical humming noise and the distinct whir of a cargo carrier. He swore as the cargo carrier came into view, a YMIR heavy assault mech tucked away beneath it. The carrier dropped the mech to the ground and hastily fled the scene down the boulevard, the mech swinging up and into action a moment later. Both arms 'opened' to reveal the heavy repeater cannon in its right arm and a rocket launcher in the left. "Damn. They're sending out the heavy mechs. Shepard, you want to fall back?" Garrus hastily ducked as a rocket propelled grenade from the other side of the barricade soared towards the upper level. The grenade slammed against the balcony near Miranda's position but the Cerberus agent did not indicate she'd been hit. Garrus missed Paul's reply, however; once he was in cover, he asked, "What was that, Paul? I didn't catch that!"

Shepard responded, "That problem should take care of itself. We're falling back to the apartment."

Garrus nodded and sighted down his personal targeting visor at the approaching Eclipse forces. Just as the mech looked as though it would mow down Paul and Grunt as they fell back, it suddenly turned to face the Eclipse biotics that were approaching over the bridge. A moment later, it began opening fire with the heavy repeater on its own allies. Garrus's mandibles flared as his jaw dropped. YMIR mechs were ordinarily hardwired to prevent that sort of thing from happening.

The YMIR mech had almost obliterated the Eclipse vanguards as they approached. Both of the asari lay crumpled on the deck, never to rise. "The heavy mech's doing all the damage for us." Miranda said wryly over the radio. "We can't rely on it forever, though." As she said this, an Eclipse sentinel mantled the barricade only to run headlong into the mech, which practically smacked the salarian backwards. A messy rocket explosion later, the sentinel joined the fallen asari in death. Then the YMIR mech turned to face Archangel's base, no longer content with massacring the Eclipse on the other side of the barricade.

"Grunt, put M-100 fire on that sucker now!" Kasumi fired off a powerful overload pulse from her omni-tool as the words left Paul Shepard's mouth. The mech's shields collapsed, leaving only a thick layer of armor protecting the YMIR's vital systems. In the ensuing moments, Garrus stood from cover and snapped off a sniper shot at the YMIR's heavy repeater, Grunt pulled the M-100 off his back and launched two RPGs, while Mordin and Miranda fired off volleys of SMG fire. The YMIR mech practically ignored the SMG fire, but it still took the full brunt of two rocket propelled grenades and a Punisher-9 round from Garrus.

"The Mech's armor integrity is below half strength!" Kasumi shouted. Mordin suddenly unleashed an omni-tool attack at the mech; a burst of freezing particles flew from the balcony and slammed into the YMIR's top plating near the head.

"Not difficult!" Mordin said readily, following up with a volley of Shuriken fire.

"Don't let up!" Paul called out, switching the Crossfire for his more precise Phalanx pistol and snapping off six quick shots into the YMIR's "head" region mere moments later.

Miranda moved hastily from her position and let loose a powerful biotic attack that ripped into the bulk of the YMIR's reinforced armor. The effect lingered, however, and Paul Shepard saw his opportunity, as did Jacob. Paul tossed a biotic shockwave at the mech, while Jacob launched a throw at the damnable Eclipse mech. The biotic explosion that resulted as both attacks detonated the twisting field Miranda had smashed into the mech was colossal, and Garrus swore for a moment that Jacob's throw attack had detonated Paul's shockwave slightly ahead of time... But now the mech was down to just its regular plating. Any damage done to it could not be repaired. Garrus readied the Punisher-9 and fired again. "Watch out!" Kasumi yelled as the mech blew apart, sending twisted pieces of shrapnel flying every direction.

"Hostile neutralized!" Mordin called out above the din. "Enemy engineers closing in!"

Garrus confirmed Mordin's sighting; a trio of salarian engineers were advancing. "Look out for the combat drones!" All the regular heavies and biotics had to be down...the more Eclipse forces were down, the better, in Garrus's mind. Garrus then identified one of those salarian engineers: Jaroth. The head of Omega's Eclipse. Instinctively, Garrus leveled the Punisher rifle and unloaded a clean shot at the salarian's torso. Jaroth grimaced, and then retaliated with a solid burst of SMG fire that punched several times into Garrus's kinetic barrier. He hastily drew back into cover position, where he cleared the heat sink. He didn't waste his second shot, drilling Jaroth in the upper chest, sending the salarian twisting grotesquely to the ground. Garrus felt awfully satisfied. _Couldn't get that little bastard out of the way before...but he didn't get a second chance to get out of my sights._

"I love this rifle." Garrus proudly stated over the radio.

"Impact shot!" Grunt yelled, firing away a dense concussive shot at one of the closing engineers, forcing his salarian target to stagger. Paul immediately felled Grunt's target with a volley of incendiary rounds. One of the salarians suddenly yelled as Jacob dragged him into the air with a biotic pull. Another biotic flare and explosion later, the last of the salarians went down.

"They've stopped." Garrus then realized. "Shepard, can you head up here?"

"En route." Paul responded hastily, moving as quickly as he could.

Jacob and Grunt took position at the barricade on the lower level, while Paul headed up the stairs to find Garrus. He stated admiringly, "You're kicking ass, Shepard. They barely touched me." He added, "Even better, we got Jaroth in the process. I've been hunting that little bastard for months."

"Head of Omega's Eclipse, right?" Paul asked. "What put him on your list?"

Garrus told him at once, "He'd been shipping tainted eezo all over Citadel space. _Half_ the goods I seized back at C-Sec came from his team here on Omega. My team got a tip on a big shipment a while back, got the jump, and seized it. I killed one of his top lieutenants in the process." He looked out at Jaroth's dead body and shook his head. "I'm not too surprised he decided to work with the other groups after that."

The merest ghost of a smile crossed Paul's face. "Glad you got him in the end. You don't like to leave jobs half-finished."

"You know I don't." Garrus responded. "I'm glad I got the little jackass too. And that takes Eclipse out of the picture..."

"But we've still got Blood Pack and Blue Suns to deal with." Jacob pointed out, as he was listening in over his radio. "The Blood Pack may have manpower, but they'll essentially throw bodies at us. And with the Blue Suns, they'll rely on kinetic barriers to shield themselves. Good news is that the bulk of the mechs went down with Eclipse."

"And that's always a bonus." Paul stated. "Think we could make a run for it, or not just yet?"

Garrus nodded slightly, but he then reconsidered. "Maybe...let's see what they're up to." He turned the magnification factor of his visor up a notch as he gazed out from the balcony and over the barricade. "The mercs have reinforced the other side. Heavily." He reported. "They've mounted a heavy repeater and possibly a grenade launcher, but there's not much else. But they're not coming over yet...what could they be waiting for?" Garrus chose to voice his thoughts aloud.

"There are possibilities..." The apartment suddenly shuddered and an alarm went off. Garrus's mind ran over the possibilities of what that might have been...

Miranda spoke for all of them in that moment, "What the hell was that?!"

"Detonation from subterranean level!" Mordin informed them.

"Damn it..." Garrus brought up his omni-tool and consulted the map of his base. "They've breached the lower level. Well, they had to use their brains eventually. You'd better get down there, Shepard. I can hold them from here."

"Let's split up four and three." Paul shook his head. "One of my teams stays here."

"You sure?" Garrus asked. "Who knows what you'll find down there..."

Paul looked to Miranda. "Jacob, Miranda, and Mordin, hold your positions here. Keep Garrus safe. Grunt, Kasumi, you're with me."

"And I was looking forward to crawling around in a dark basement..." Kasumi said almost dreamily.

"Thanks, Shepard." Garrus nodded quickly. "You'd better get going."

"We're on our way." Paul nodded to Garrus, ignoring Kasumi's glib comment.

Garrus instructed them, "Go down a level. The door to the basement is right beneath the main staircase. I'll send you the coordinates, but you've got to get moving."

Paul, Kasumi, and Grunt moved with all appropriate haste. Garrus went back to the balcony...just as the heavy repeater opened up, focusing on his location. "Get a bead on the operator of that heavy repeater!" Garrus ordered as a solid stream of metallic fragments chewed into the balcony near his position. He drew back, just as the mercs seemed to flow like water over the barricade. He counted ten, possibly fifteen men.

"Repositioning!" Jacob informed them. "Stun them!"

"Neutralized!" Mordin had already felled one advancing hostile and was chewing up the others with incredibly precise shot after shot. "Not difficult! Here, enjoy!" A burst of fire and a panicked yell later, Mordin had taken out another of the approaching Blue Suns.

"Repeater down!" Miranda reported with satisfaction in her voice, her shot killing the operator of the heavy gun. "Hostiles closing!" Garrus quickly took advantage of the opening and snapped off two quick shots, wounding one hostile and killing the other.

Garrus ducked back into cover and checked the base's layout. One of the shutters had been secured, the one that was the most vulnerable and offered the quickest entry into the base. There were two others...and possibly a third "Shepard, there's still two more shutters to close. The garage and a side passageway have to be closed yet. We can't fight them on three fronts."

"Understood." Paul responded. "Leave that to us."

There was a reverberating clang and crash from below, and Garrus wondered for a moment what the hell it could have been. "Status?"

"That was me, Archangel." Jacob reported, but his breath was short even over the radio. "Biotic attack took out three at once. Whew..."

"Get up here, Jacob!" Miranda ordered at once. "We can't keep them pinned up here forever. Dying is not on today's agenda!"

"What?" Jacob's feigned shock tinged his response. "No one at the staff meeting told me that, ma'am!"

Garrus shook his head at the repartees between Paul's team. There was a natural chemistry that he hadn't seen since...two years ago. On Virmire. When Paul's team had gone into what was essentially a suicide mission and gotten out alive...with one exception. As Garrus shot down another approaching vorcha on the bridge, he resolved that no one else on Paul's team was going to join Ashley Williams. Not if he could help it.

* * *

Grunt laughed balefully as another Vorcha died under fire from his Kovalyov Assault Rifle. "Worthless!" He called out, provoking growls from the other three in the garage. When one of them stood out to fire, Grunt unloaded another barrage of fire, shredding the vorcha's armor. A biotic attack suddenly lifted the vorcha flying into the air...and Grunt finished his target off with a concussive shot to the head. "Two more left." Grunt stated as Paul Shepard took cover next to him.

"Good work, Grunt." Paul stated approvingly.

"Make it one more." Kasumi informed them, de-cloaking on the other side of the garage.

"I've got this one." Paul told his squad. "Get to that side passage and seal it off." Two tight nods later, Grunt and Kasumi moved off, the krogan lumbering away while the Japanese master thief skillfully padded alongside him. The last vorcha leaned out of cover on the other side of the garage, lifted his Avenger to fire...

And then Paul Shepard slammed into him, sending the vorcha flying into a wall. A quick shot to the skull later, and the last of the vorcha in the garage was dead. "Last hostile down," Paul reported, "and the second shutter's closed." The biotic aura of his charge faded as he ran over to where Kasumi and Grunt were. They stood on either side of the door, weapons ready.

"Situation problematic, but still holding position Commander." Mordin reported. "Recommend you deal with shutters quickly!" Paul could hear the salarian scientist unloading SMG fire over the radio.

Paul opened the door to the side passage, and just as hastily ducked as a pair of vorcha at the other end of the passage opened fire on him. There were several small benches that the vorcha were using for cover. He had an idea, but he needed the vorcha to stand up. "I'm readying the Arc Projector." He informed his squad as he holstered his assault rifle and slid the geth weapon off of his back. Just as Jacob had instructed him, Paul was able to fold the weapon into firing position, and he felt power thrum through the heavy weapon as he aimed it at the vorcha. A tremendous _zap_-_zap-zap_ later, Paul heard the horrified gurgles of the vorcha as the Arc Projector electrocuted them, roasting through their armor and frying against their bare skin. Another gurgle at the end of the corridor was followed by a dull explosion that sent shrapnel flying into the wall on the end of the passage. "Grunt, Kasumi, let's move!" Paul called out.

"I got it!" Grunt moved first, switching the Kovalyov for his Eviscerator shotgun, which would be murderously effective in these quarters.

Kasumi smiled, "Here we go..." Vanishing from sight a moment later, the masterful thief vaulted over several of the barricades that Garrus's team would have used for cover when they were still alive. She sighted a Krogan, a trio of varren, and a small battalion of angry vorcha charging down the passage.

Kasumi knew full well her team didn't have time or really the firepower to deal with them. Paul's little gadget had been murderously effective, but she doubted it would stop the krogan in one go. Kasumi, in the moments that she had, overrode the shutter's normal safety protocols with a mere flick of her omni-tool. The door came smashing down a moment later, cutting off the advancing Blood Pack. "We should be good here, Shepard." She reported over radio, de-cloaking as she headed back to her squad.

"Nice to see you take that initiative, Kasumi." Paul stated approvingly as she came back into sight, then grinned humorlessly. "Think we've got another round in us? That big krogan battlemaster we saw earlier tore open a hole in the wall with his biotics and they've got the squad pinned down."

"It's as good a time as any to find out." Kasumi shrugged.

Grunt sighed. "You talk too much. Fight now, talk later."

No one disagreed with him in that regard.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Whew! Had to break through that damnable writer's block at some point, and the most tedious enemies in the game seemed like a good way of doing it.

Not sure how I'll approach the next section, but I'll try something different. Possibly in medias res. On the other hand, I don't know. If it works, should I alter it? What do you (the readers) think?


	18. Chapter 18: Dossier: Archangel, Part 4

TIME UNKNOWN, AUGUST 2nd, 2185  
KIMA DISTRICT, OMEGA

The only thing that Garrus Vakarian could feel was pain.

His eyes were shut as tightly as he could manage them. If he opened them, his brain might start oozing out of his skull.

Darkness was gathering in his mind. He had to have lost a lot of blood...too much blood.

Garrus Vakarian knew he had come so far; he had been from Palaven to the Citadel, to the shores of Virmire and the towering cliffs of Rayingri. Death seemed to be gathering at the corners of his eyes, and Garrus reflected that he should have picked a much better place than the galaxy's armpit: Omega.

He also should have picked a better second-in-command than...than...Lantar...

* * *

TEN MINUTES EARLIER

It took just about every shot imaginable to finally put Garm down for good. No one was quite certain who landed the final killshot, but with a long raspy rattle, the Blood Pack battlemaster breathed his last.

Biotics hadn't been as effective; Garm's powerful biotic barrier had rejected just about everything after Miranda had keyed in on him, and she'd been wounded when Garm turned his lethal focus to her instead of Garrus. Even now, Mordin applied medi-gel to her injuries, but Miranda was tough. "It's not much more than a scratch." She insisted.

Mordin's response had been an opaque semi-smile, and he applied more. "Wound may only appear superficial. Best decision to inoculate against radioactive rounds." He gave Miranda a quick glance. "If rules to combat do exist, Blood Pack laugh at them."

Weapons had been more effective. Garrus had lamed Garm's left arm, preventing him from wielding that damnable M-27 Scimitar very effectively...the same Scimitar that had nearly taken his own life. Garm had come close, too close, and only quick thinking by Mordin provided him with an avenue for escape; the craft salarian had practically bathed Garm in incendiary particles, forcing the battlemaster to swat at the flames and bat them out. And even then, Garm still refused to go down. Garrus shook his head in disgust. That engagement had turned into a bloodbath; the Blood Pack had thrown what amounted to living screens at their opponents. The worst part was that their strategy had almost worked: pinning Garrus down and putting quite a beating on him. However, Paul's teammates had turned the tide. The return of Kasumi to the chaos, coupled with the biotic explosions that Miranda, Shepard, and Jacob combined to create, proved devastating to the lightly armored Blood Pack. These tactics had been fairly effective against the handful of krogan that had made it through. When Paul Shepard, Kasumi, and Grunt entered the fray, the situation for the Blood Pack went from bad to worse. But Garm had refused to go down, even when caught alone, seven against one. Garrus let loose a long breath in frustration. _And he almost took me with him._

"All hostiles down. Come find me, Shepard." Garrus radioed to the commander.

"One moment, Garrus; Kasumi, we need this basement door sealed at once." Garrus smiled a bit at Paul's due diligence. _It was bad enough fighting the Blood Pack like that._ Vakarian checked his kinetic barrier and armor integrity and swore inwardly. It was still having feedback issues...of course Garm's damned M-27 had torn into it from distance. Of course. Still, considering that krogan usually tended to wield massive M-300 Claymore shotguns, he was fortunate that Garm had only had the M-27 instead of something higher-grade.

"Got it, Shep." Kasumi answered.

Paul looked over Garrus as he ran up from the stairs. "Are you all right, Archangel?"

Garrus gave Paul a quizzical expression at the use of his new callsign and shrugged his shoulders. "I've been better. I actually took a few hits that time." Looking to the dead Krogan battlemaster, he let loose a long breath. "We took out Garm. He was one tough son of a bitch..."

"You fought with him before, didn't you?" Miranda asked, wincing as Mordin finished his work on her wound.

"I did. Took a lot of effort and planning, too; I drilled him once in the shoulder from mid-range, and then closed in for the kill. None of his damned gang to help him out..." Garrus shook his head at the memories. "I'd never seen a krogan regenerate that fast, not even Wrex. Even with his left arm numbed, Garm still turned things into a waiting game. Eventually his buddies showed up..." Garrus put an extra amount of venom on the 'buddies', "And I had to let him go."

"Not this time." Jacob pointed out with a wry smile.

"True enough." Garrus responded.

Paul took charge. "Only the Blue Suns are left. Whoever needs ammunition, stock up; we're going to shoot our way out pretty soon."

"Sooner rather than later, yes?" Mordin asked whimsically.

"That would be preferred." Miranda offered, tossing him a fresh thermal clip.

"We can definitely pull this off." Garrus said firmly after a moment. "Tarak's got a big group, but no YMIR's, and..." An all-too-familiar mechanical whirring filled the air, and Garrus looked out the window to his left to see that damnable Blue Suns gunship swooping in. "Damn it, I thought I took that thing out already!" He hastily found the closest available cover, as did Paul's team.

"Reasonable to assume Blue Suns have affected repairs." Mordin stated.

"They definitely fixed it, but not completely." Shepard added. "I made damn sure of that."

Several windows shattered, and Garrus realized what the gunship was really doing. "Blue Suns troopers are rappelling down the side wall to the ground level!"

"Kasumi, Grunt, with me." Paul took charge. "Miranda, Jacob, and Mordin, take position and ready for intruders from that window." He pointed to the broad bay window framed by a pair of bunk beds. "Blue Suns won't keep sending troops to ground level for long; we've got the high ground."

"Copy." Miranda nodded and her team did as Paul instructed. Garrus gave Paul a knowing nod and a short, small smile as the human biotic sprang into action moments later.

* * *

FOUR MINUTES LATER

The last of that particular group of Blue Suns hit the deck with a bullet betwixt her ribs, and Paul's team breathed easier for the first time since the damned gunship had shown up. Paul's breaths were short and hot; he'd charged the nearest group of enemies and sent several sprawling, then added to the chaos by unleashing shockwave after shockwave to know the Blue Suns up and jostle them out of cover...where Garrus and Miranda had easy killshots. Jacob and Mordin had apparently pinned down the Blue Suns from the upper window, according to Miranda's situation report, but it had not been easy going.

"ARCHANGEL!" A loudspeaker broadcast and Paul Shepard's blood seemingly froze. In all the chaos the Blue Suns troopers had caused, both teams had nearly forgotten about the gunship. And now, Paul was on the ground floor, and nowhere near his friend.

As Paul sprinted towards the stairwell, he heard a distinctly Turian grunt of pain and the rat-tat-tat-tat-tat pulse of a heavy repeater. "You think you can screw with the Blue Suns?! THIS ENDS NOW!" The gunship pilot's livid voice cut through the air again, a series of messy explosions following the rant.

Paul made it to the upper floor just in time to see Garrus Vakarian leap through the air for more cover...and then a missile detonated inches from the turian's face. The former C-Sec officer was sent flying into one of the couches on the top floor. He did not rise.

"GARRUS!" Paul yelled out as he sprinted to his fallen friend's side. He couldn't make out any motion from Garrus's face, but the turian was oozing blood, and an awful lot of that to boot. To say Paul Shepard was enraged would have been an understatement. He unfolded the Crossfire C-105 from the back of his armor and fired almost before as the rifle was ready. "Hold on, Garrus!" Shepard yelled, throwing a biotic attack at the gunship and not truly caring if it worked or not. "I've lost enough friends already. Not one more!"

A biotic explosion blasted the air apart as Miranda's biotics flared up; she'd detonated Paul's attack on the gunship by slapping it with a warp field. The gunship suddenly twisted away and banked up, attempting to escape...just in time for Jacob to join in the fun. Another biotic explosion rent the air apart, and the entire squad fired almost as one. Shot after shot tore into the wounded gunship, and finally, it wheeled away, trailing flames from the intake valves. If the gunship's pilot was attempting to land his craft, he would never make it.

And then the entire scene blew up as a massive crack-bang echoed throughout the apartment. The gunship evaporated into a cloud of gas, metal fragments, and flame; the last of which quickly died in the contained atmosphere of Omega. Paul looked to the source of the ending shot and saw Miranda standing, holding her left arm and wincing ruefully. "Those damned Devlon Industries rifles kick like a krogan at the best of times." She stated simply. "I was already hurt..."

Paul handed her some medi-gel. "Doctor Chakwas will take care of rehabbing that arm aboard the _Normandy_." Miranda nodded.

"Commander!" Mordin called out. "Archangel still alive; is semi-conscious, but still breathing! But only just..."

Paul at once ran over from Miranda to where Garrus lay. Blood had pooled below his face, which had several metallic fragments still sticking out of it. The good news was that the wounds were sealing and the worst of the bleeding had stopped. As Paul tried to move Garrus's Punisher-9 Sniper Rifle from where it had fallen, Garrus suddenly took a deep breath and immediately began coughing. "Garrus, hold on..." He instructed as Garrus's eyes opened. Garrus seemed to register those thoughts. "We're going to get you out of here. It won't be long." Any further thoughts that Paul had were cut off as Garrus immediately began hacking up blue fluids from within... _Turian blood..._ His eyes widened. "Doctor?"

"Not safe to move him just yet. Will stabilize patient, yes, yes." Mordin nodded and set to work with a nearby medkit. "Suggest you bring aircar to us. Not safe to move patient over long distance. Certainly not into any merc traps."

The most Paul Shepard could do for his fallen friend was to hold onto Garrus and offer him his mere presence. _Something to hold onto, anything other than that rifle. He's got a hell of a grip on it._

_..._

The next few minutes were touch and go. Mordin worked as best he could on the injured turian, removing fragments of metal where possible and cauterizing the wounds with some assistance from his omni-tool. The salarian genius murmured to himself as he worked, muttering that he'd seldom seen injuries quite this bad where the patient had lived.

Through unknown means, Kasumi managed to summon the Normandy's shuttle. Once that was accomplished, Garrus (who was still badly wounded but stable) was gently put into a position from which Mordin could continue working. Paul looked at Kasumi, who was piloting, and said firmly, "Don't bother with the transportation hub. Garrus needs to get to the Normandy's medbay ASAP." Grunt, who had (incredibly) carried Garrus without any complaints, took a seat in the back of the Kodiak with almost no words.

Jacob nodded. "I'll get in the cockpit and radio Joker to let Normandy know we're on our way."

With one look at his executive officer, Paul could tell she was hiding pain of her own. "Any idea what kind of arm wound I'm looking at?" He asked as he took the shuttle's medkit and began running a basic diagnostic with the handheld tool within.

"Possibly a hairline fracture to the upper arm." Mordin stated before Miranda could answer. "Situation painful in short-term, but should not prove debilitating in long run. Am certain Doctor Chakwas would have any number of physical therapy regimens to assist with healing. Shouldn't take Operative Lawson out for too long, Commander."

"He's right, Commander." Miranda said, trying to stifle a chuckle. "And I heal twice as fast as the average human..."

Paul Shepard sighed as the diagnostic tool gave him the results. "You suffered a hairline fracture of your left arm according to this little scanner, Operative Lawson."

"Wonderful." Miranda bit out, trying her best to smile. She wouldn't be out of action long, not with her accelerated healing. "That means a week of rest and physical therapy." It would be more of an encumbrance than anything, but she'd be back in action soon enough. She looked at Archangel, and then to her commanding officer...and couldn't help but notice how Shepard tensed up at the sight of Mordin removing yet another carbon-metallic fragment from Garrus's lower mandible.

"Damn it." Paul murmured quietly, taking Garrus's free hand and giving it a quick squeeze, as if saying, _I'm still here._

It was a tense ride back to the Normandy. As Paul had ordered, Kasumi flew the shuttle directly into Normandy's cargo bay. The shuttle landed, and the side doors of the Kodiak opened to reveal Doctor Chakwas and two of the Normandy's medical technicians, standing with more complex diagnostic equipment and a gurney. With Grunt's help, Garrus was placed gently on the gurney and whisked aboard the elevator. There were few words said between the team; their thoughts were on the turian they had come to rescue, and now, they wondered if he would make it or not.

* * *

EIGHTEEN HOURS LATER

SOMEWHERE IN THE SAHRABARIK SYSTEM

Paul Shepard sighed in the observation lounge, looking at the after-action report Miranda had typed up. He'd ordered Joker to move Normandy away from Omega; the last thing he wanted was some asinine merc reprisal disturbing Chakwas and Mordin from their work on Garrus, and the IES stealth systems would conceal Normandy in the meantime easily enough.

Chakwas had wasted no time in throwing everyone but herself, the medtechs, and Mordin out of the medbay. As a result, the team members who had gone to Omega with the exceptions of Grunt (who was in his usual place in the cargo hold) and Mordin (who was assisting Chakwas) were waiting around the communications lounge. Eventually Jacob got tired of waiting and went to get an update from Chakwas and Mordin.

In the meantime, it was just Kasumi and Miranda waiting with Shepard. While Shepard knew that Garrus was in the best hands imaginable, he was also very nervous. What kind of damage had that missile impact done to Garrus that couldn't be reached? What about the fate of Garrus's team?

Eventually, Jacob Taylor made his way back, a solemn look on his face. Paul folded his arms and said quietly, "Lay it on me. How bad are things with Garrus?"

Jacob sighed as the doors closed. "Doctor Chakwas and Mordin have done all they can for Garrus, but he took a bad hit. A lot of cybernetics were involved, and they've run more surgical procedures..." The sentence trailed off. Paul nodded, and Jacob continued. "As best we can tell, he should be able to recover, but..."

The doors to the communications lounge opened up and Garrus Vakarian, the right side of his face covered with bandages, walked in. "Shepard." He stated in that ever-so-smooth voice of his.

Jacob had to laugh a bit. "Tough son of a bitch...didn't think you'd be up yet."

Kasumi, Miranda, and Jacob politely excused themselves to allow Paul and Garrus some privacy. After they had left, Garrus looked directly at Paul, perhaps the only person in that room (and probably the ship, aside from Chakwas) he trusted, and asked concernedly, "Nobody would give me a mirror. How bad is it?"

Paul decided to keep things light. They'd been touch-and-go for the better part of a day, after all. "Hell, Garrus, you were always ugly. Slap some more face paint on there, and nobody will even notice."

Garrus coughed and laughed in almost the same motion, the cough doing more to worry Shepard than anything. "Ha-ah! Don't make me laugh, damn it, my face is barely holding together as it is..." He shrugged his shoulders. "Ah well, probably for the best, anyway. Everyone was always ignoring you and hitting on me...time for you to get a fair shot at it."

Paul smiled and shook his head. "Sorry Garrus, I happen to be committed."

"I remember." Garrus said with a small smile, which soon fell as he asked concernedly. "Have you talked to her yet?"

"Not just yet." Paul said after a moment. "I sent her an e-mail, but nothing beats honest-to-goodness face to face interaction. And..." He gestured to the Cerberus insignia that was plastered just about everywhere on the ship.

"I was wondering about that." Garrus said quietly. He then asked in a low, husky tone, "Frankly, I'm more worried about you. Cerberus, Paul? You remember those sick experiments they were up to in the Attican Traverse?"

"Like they happened yesterday," Paul responded, his voice carrying a very unhappy edge. "Unfortunately, the only other alternative is inaction." He let that statement hang in the air.

Garrus quickly understood and nodded. "And I know you: you can't sit still for five minutes." Garrus answered with an attempt at a smile, wincing again.

"You have no idea how glad I am to have you here, Garrus." Paul said after a moment. "If I'm walking into hell, I want someone I trust at my side."

Garrus nodded wryly, "You do realize this plan has _me_ walking into hell too. Hmmm..." he added, "just like old times. Well, don't let all this padding fool you, Paul. Chakwas said it should be ready to come off in a few hours thanks to medi-gel. In the meantime, I'll be fit for duty whenever you need me. I'll settle in and see what I can do up at the forward batteries."

"Sounds like a plan, Garrus." Paul said with a salute. "I'll expect a full operations report from you soon enough." He threw in a mock glare.

Garrus feigned shock. "As if I weren't about to run one right now, Commander?"

* * *

MISSION SUMMARY:

Extracted Archangel from mercenary siege and recruited him for the team.

Unclear whether injury to Archangel will impair his ability to assist in the mission. Regardless, revelation of identity as Garrus Vakarian useful in keeping Shepard comfortable.

* * *

Author's Note: FINALLY, GARRUS HAS JOINED THE TEAM!


	19. Chapter 19: Bekenstein Prep

1400 HOURS, AUGUST 3rd, 2185  
SAHRABARIK STAR SYSTEM, LOCATION UNKNOWN

Paul Shepard stepped out of the elevator and into the CIC. Joker was standing with his weight against the console where Shepard normally worked, having a conversation (at least Paul guessed it was a conversation) with Yeoman Chambers. As Paul approached him, Joker smiled and said, "Hey Commander, we got Garrus back! That's just _great_, because he was totally my favorite...with that pole up his ass." Paul stifled an outburst of laughter as best he could, and failed miserably.

"I assume everything's going well up here on the CIC?" Paul asked, trying to quash the smile that was prickling at the corners of his mouth.

"EDI and I were just having a small argument over the personalization of my workspace." Joker shrugged.

EDI's blue body immediately sprang from the nearest node, right next to the elevator. If EDI had had a face, Paul guessed it would be creased with disapproval based on the tone of her voice, "Cerberus regulations _are_ clear, Mr. Moreau. 'Personalization' does _not_ include grease on my bridge cameras." Kelly laughed as well.

Joker dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "It's just mad that all its footage of me looks like a dream sequence."

Kelly spoke up, "How is our turian guest doing? His injuries looked painful."

Paul answered before Joker could cut in with his usual gibe, "He's been through a lot, and it's more than physical damage that's been dealt to him."

Kelly took that in with a gracious nod. "There's something about him...I just want to hold him close and whisper, 'It'll be all right'..."

Joker rolled his eyes, but Paul shrugged. "That might be just what he needs, but I'd talk to him first before trying to get too close."

"Of course, Commander." As Shepard turned to head back to the elevator, Kelly said, "Commander, you've received new messages on your private terminal. One of them was a message from Liara T'Soni."

Paul whirled where he stood. The blood seemed to freeze in his veins. "I'll take it in my cabin."

Joker rolled his eyes again. "Yeah, me too; I'll be in my 'cabin'. Except seeing as I don't really have one, I'll just be in the pilot's seat. Like I always am." The withering glare he received from Paul Shepard cut him off. "Shutting up now, sir," he feigned deference, holding his arms up helplessly, "I'd rather not break any bones."

"Joker, set a course for Bekenstein as soon as you get back up there." Paul ordered. "We've spent more time than I'd like to in this pit of a star system."

"No argument here, sir." Joker hobbled off to the cockpit.

Chambers looked to Shepard, who sighed. "You've been waiting for a message from Liara for some time, haven't you?"

"Yeah," Paul responded, perhaps a bit too quickly, "yes, I have."

"Were you two very close?" Kelly asked in a more quiet voice.

Paul nodded solemnly. "We were more than close, Kelly."

Kelly went back to her station, much to Paul's relief. The elevator doors opened as he arrived...to reveal Kasumi Goto, a tiny smile on her face...which faded the instant she saw Shepard's downcast expression. "Ah. Bad timing on my part. I understand we're heading to Bekenstein..."

"That'll be our destination after we hit the Mass Relay." Paul confirmed.

"I see." Kasumi answered. "Well, you know where to find me. As soon as you've finished...whatever it is you're going to do, that is."

"I shouldn't be long." Paul said after a moment, "Excuse me..." Kasumi politely stepped out of the way to allow Paul into the elevator.

Kasumi whistled slightly. "Lady Love come back to hit the Commander?"

"I'd say so." Kelly responded quietly. "Not entirely unexpected. The psych profile indicated that Liara and Paul were...bonded."

"Does that bother you?" Kasumi asked in a low voice.

Kelly's eyes widened. "Not in the slightest. It's good that Paul found someone stable." She looked about, somewhat worried. "Well, it's disappointing to me, anyway..."

"Because you fancy the Commander?" Kasumi asked, her left eyebrow arched upwards.

Kelly Chambers let out a deep breath. "It isn't like that at all, Kasumi. I admire him, but...humanity needs him."

"The words of an altruist..." Kasumi murmured, "Perhaps you _should_ tell him how you feel?"

"Perhaps that wouldn't be the best idea." Kelly said after a moment. "It depends on the message he got from Liara."

"I'd tell him." Kasumi said after a moment. "I didn't tell the man I loved how I felt...until it was too late." Kelly placed her hand on Kasumi's and offered a squeeze. The master thief, however distant she might have been at that moment, didn't withdraw or recoil. Instead, she smiled. "Thanks for listening to my own weird advice. I've been rambling, and I need to work on some details for our trip to Bekenstein."

Kelly gave Kasumi a warm smile as the lithe Japanese woman seemingly strolled into the elevator. She was interesting, all right...and Kelly couldn't tell where one face began and another façade ended.

* * *

DECK 1, NORMANDY SR-2

Shepard felt the subtle tug, then the massive WHOOOR-BANG of the Normandy entering the Mass Relay, from where he sat down. He couldn't help but hear a certain someone's voice as he regarded her message on the console in his room.

FROM: LIARA T'SONI

TO: PAUL SHEPARD

SUBJECT: re: WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO

MESSAGE SENT: 2222 HOURS ILIUM STANDARD TIME, AUGUST 2nd, 2185

Shepard,

I honestly didn't know how to react when I saw your name pop up in my 'received extranet mail'. I've decided, though: joy. I'm glad you're back in action. I hope to see you soon. And yes, Bekenstein works perfectly. I'll have to pull some strings around my own offices.

And I know your face just made a complete puckering expression at the word 'offices'. Believe it or not, Paul, I've become an information broker, and a fine one at that... Well, at least if Ilium's Top 25 Up-And-Coming Companies is to be believed.

There is a lot that we should talk about in regards to the last few years, but I'm guessing that Bekenstein isn't the place to discuss most of it. Given Bekenstein's lavish reputation, I'm going to guess that something particularly formal might be necessary...and if whoever you're going with happens to know Bekenstein, my guess is they _will_ have planned ahead.

I'm very sorry, Paul, that I didn't reach out as soon as my first source indicated you were back in action. I similarly have no excuse. But I'd talk to your mother, if I were you, though. She's apparently all kinds of pissed at Alliance brass (this is Ilium, and people love indulging in wild speculation about human politics; it takes their minds of their own less-than-legal activities).

I will do everything in my power to arrive on Bekenstein within the next two days. We'll use one of the dead-drop e-mails from the old days for coordinating.

Dress nicely. Bekenstein claims to be a human version of Ilium (it's not, but it's definitely trying hard) so you might as well humor them.

With love,

Liara T'Soni

* * *

NORMANDY SR-2, OBSERVATION LOUNGE

"There you are!" Kasumi said with a smile as Shepard entered the room, a decided spring in his step. The Master Thief practically sprang off of the couch and walked over to the bar in the room, which made Shepard's jaw drop.

"We had one of those the entire time and no one bothered to tell me?" Paul asked with a most disappointed look in his eyes.

Kasumi shrugged. "It was here when I got here. Same with the Virtual Reality Chair, too, but that's just too trippy for my liking."

"A full-service bar and a Virtual Reality machine..." Paul shook his head. "Well, those are certainly two things you'd never find on an Alliance warship."

"Perhaps not," Kasumi shrugged once more, "I don't mind them, though. The VR equipment gets a little noisy from time to time, but EDI's gotten the hang of unplugging it whenever I want to go to sleep." She gestured to the bed in the room and Paul gaped again. "That can't be healthy for your jaw, you know..." Kasumi teased.

"Kasumi..." Paul rolled his eyes. Kasumi put her hands up in a gesture of innocence and walked back to the couch.

"Right, Bekenstein," Kasumi put her hands together and gestured for Paul to sit on the top of the lounge couch, which he did. "It's fanciful. It has delusions of grandeur that one day it'll be the human answer to Ilium. Apparently it's a big joke among asari, too. Cost of living is high, the wages are high, and the pressure is high...all of which explain the planet's charmingly high suicide rate." Kasumi shuddered. "The bureaucracy on Bekenstein is a pain to deal with, and I mean worse than Noveria under Anoleis."

"You knew Administrator Anoleis?" Paul asked. He'd landed the salarian behind bars...hopefully for a good long time.

"I knew him, yes. Had a near run-in with some utter tool of a Sergeant Stirling. Wasn't surprised she bit the dust; she pissed off just about everyone. And I'm a patient person. I have to be on a heist. As for Anoleis, well...let's just say _that_ particular heist landed the kindly administrator in trouble."

"You didn't..." Paul's eyes widened.

"Hey, I'm _good _at what I do. He never even knew I'd replaced that painting with a fake until I was two systems away. And he never saw my face." Kasumi sighed wistfully. "I should try going back to Noveria sometime. There's got to be at least a metric ton of valuables behind that corporate BS..."

"So Bekenstein." Paul cut in, bringing the subject back to the heist.

"Bekenstein," Kasumi continued morosely, "it's extremely expensive, forbidding, and our next destination. Better than Omega in any case. The event where we'll lift Keiji's graybox from Donovan Hock will be a society party, a very high society party. You'll need to blend in, though; no offense, Shep, but I haven't seen you with a tactical cloak recently..."

Paul shrugged. "I got used to formal dinners and the glitz and glamor of high society right after the SR-1 saved the Citadel. My formal clothes probably went up with the Normandy, though."

"Don't worry," Kasumi offered, "I've made arrangements and I know your size. Besides, _I'm_ the one who needs to be hidden."

"About this whole arrangement..." Paul started. "Could I add one more to it? It sounds like it was just going to be us..."

Kasumi's lips tucked together, "Who are you thinking of? Grunt?"

"Ha. Ha." Shepard sarcastically answered. "As if he'd fit in at a society party. No, the person I was thinking of was one Prothean Expert and one of Ilium's top information brokers. She also happens to be from Thessia, and the daughter of an asari matriarch to boot."

"Sounds like she'd have no problem with the place," Kasumi said with a small shrug, "I'm going to guess you're inviting Liara T'Soni along?"

Paul nodded. "Yes; in fact, she should be on her way to Bekenstein right as we speak."

"She's in the neighborhood, you two work well together...I wouldn't have an issue at all." Kasumi said with a whimsical laugh. "I've worked with her people before. She's certainly a rising star in the corporate world. Plus her biotics would come very handy once the nasty stuff begins."

Paul looked at Kasumi with a rather cross expression. "Weren't we supposed to shoot as little as possible?"

Kasumi sighed. "That was before I found out exactly what Hock's security arrangements are." She tossed him a datapad. "That took a lot of work to get, by the way."

Paul looked over the data and nodded, "Looks like our man Hock has hired a little over a hundred security guards from the local Eclipse branch. And he's paying them enough money not to ask any questions."

"The guests at this part are going to be some of the most vicious specimens humanity has to offer." Kasumi said once Shepard put the datapad down. "Which happen to include some unscrupulous arms dealers from the Terminus, Attican Traverse tycoons, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the scum of Arcturus." When Paul's eyebrow rose, Kasumi explained, "They're a group of Senators who deal with the Shadow Broker behind the Alliance's back to eliminate those who might threaten their position."

"Sounds like quite the happy gathering." Paul shook his head. "With friends like those, who needs enemies?" Kasumi chuckled a bit at the old adage. Paul asked, "So...What are we...or rather, what are you stealing, anyway?"

"It's a graybox." Kasumi tapped a small implant that was well-hidden next to her right eye, and that brought up a blue screen of sorts that wrapped around her eyes. "And it's a very valuable neural data storage system that's illegal in most of Citadel Space. It stores memories, thoughts, secret codes, and illicit information. This particular graybox, the one Hock has, belonged to my partner, Keiji Okuda. We worked together for a long time..." Kasumi's voice trailed off, she deactivated her own graybox, and her eyes dropped to the deck, "before, of course, Hock killed him."

Paul nodded; that explained why Hock had the graybox, if it was a neural implant, Hock would have needed to kill the person who had it if he wanted to get a crack at it. "Can you tell me about Keiji at all?" He asked quietly.

Kasumi nodded. "Keiji Okuda happened to be the best hacker and entry man I've ever known. Unfortunately, he screwed up and stole something that he really shouldn't...and made himself infamous in the process." She sighed as she looked Paul in the eyes. "He warned me it was bad, and told it could also spark an interstellar war if it ever got out. Needless to say, that information got him killed." Kasumi's gaze dropped again.

"Dangerous information comes in many forms..." Paul mused aloud. "Well, I suppose we'll find out exactly what Keiji took once we get that graybox."

"True enough." Kasumi pointed out. She then asked, "How are you coordinating with Liara?" Paul gestured that he didn't want to say, not with the amount of electronic surveillance that Cerberus had on the SR-2. Kasumi nodded and stated in a low voice, "That datapad is my personal one, Shep. It's totally cut off from the Normandy's own network, and I've got it buried under a hundred layers of encryption." Accepting that answer, Paul typed in how he was coordinating thus far with Liara. When he had handed it to Kasumi, she nodded. "I see."

"_Can_ we work Liara into this plan at all?" Paul asked.

Kasumi smiled. "Please. Remember who you're talking to, Shepard. Of course we can."

Before Paul left, he told Kasumi, "I would hope this should be obvious, Kasumi, but remember whose ship we're on. Whatever Miranda or the Illusive Man might say, this ship has too much electronic surveillance, and all of it is under Cerberus's thumb. It has more security than I or any reasonable person should ever be comfortable with." Kasumi nodded, and Paul continued, "Cerberus would be _extremely_ interested in something that could trigger an interstellar war, especially if that war involved humanity. Don't take any chances with that datapad; EDI's a full-out artificial intelligence and the Illusive Man himself might direct her attention to cracking that datapad...if it ever became necessary."

Kasumi shuddered and nodded. "Will do, Shep."

* * *

NORMANDY SR-2, DECK 4

Paul left Kasumi's observation lounge and headed to the elevator, queuing it to head down a floor. He hadn't checked in on Grunt in a while, and he wanted to be sure the krogan was settling in aboard the SR-2.

As he stepped off of the elevator, he heard Ken and Gabby chatting. Gabby asked, "Did you hear we're sharing our deck with a krogan?"

"Well, ain't that peachy." Ken glibly responded.

Paul smiled as he passed by and waked down to the cargo hold where Grunt's tank still was. The young krogan looked out at the hold, regarding a datapad for a moment. As Shepard entered Grunt's room, the krogan dismissively tossed the datapad away and nodded to acknowledge Paul's presence. "Shepard?" He asked.

Paul held up a hand. "I'm just checking in, Grunt, and making sure you're acclimatizing to the Normandy."

The krogan thought over that for a moment and nodded. "The hold is too open; there's not enough cover if a firefight breaks out. Warlord Granth would target here to scatter heavy cargo, and then focus on crippling the engines."

"A prominent krogan tactician, I take it?" Paul folded his arms and listened.

"In a sense, he was one of the finest during the Rebellions." Grunt explained. "But he was old, even by the time the rachni came around, and older still when the genophage was released. He died not long after the Rebellions fell apart." Grunt sighed. "It's how I learned in the tank – old pictures where memory is. It was like holding a book for a child, just 'remember this', picture after picture...but the imprints didn't help with finding a reason to care."

Paul shrugged. "What other human information was in the imprints?"

"Less than a finger deep to sever your spine." Grunt answered and leaned forward, showing one of his own fingers for emphasis. "You're soft; salarians, asari, all soft. Quarians, not so much. Turians? You have to work the blade, I guess... Don't see much point to it, though." Realizing the pun, Grunt chuckled, "Heh, 'much point'..." Paul shook his head and tried his hardest to stop a smile from creeping over his face.

"What was the point of all this teaching, then?" Paul asked.

"I don't know." Grunt answered after a moment. "If I had to say now, I'd say it was because Okeer wanted me to hate what he hated: the turians for defeating the krogan, the salarians for creating the genophage...but he used it all up on old hatreds. And the last imprint, the one that would have 'gifted' me with his personality, failed..." Grunt sighed, an unusually philosophical air coming over the young krogan. "I see suffering, the dead, and I think 'weak'. I'm supposed to be strong. My guts were grown from thousands more worthy." The krogan looked down. "But the dead were weak in the end. Had they been strong, I wouldn't be needed... I don't know why Okeer started teaching..."

Paul felt a chill settle in the air. Grunt continued, "The first time Okeer 'opened' the tank after creating me, I saw actual light for the first time, and I screamed. And I now realize that was weak...pitiful of me."

Paul pointed out. "You started off small. Eventually, you became who you are now. Not everyone gets that chance, Grunt."

Grunt didn't particularly like that answer. "I'm built for strength, but didn't earn it. I just am. Those dead, they were strong enough to try, even if they lost." Grunt shook his huge head again. "Heh, the perfect krogan, ignoring what made me. No strength can be found in that." After a moment, Grunt looked Paul directly in the eyes and said, "I'm going to take another look at what happened to the krogan. And I will find a reason to care about it."

Paul nodded, and as he turned to leave, Grunt sat down and offered, "Shepard, you should take that datapad to the salarian. Maybe he can do something with it." Paul picked it up and his eyes widened.

"An M-300 Claymore?" He asked Grunt. "Kind of an odd thing to keep around in a tank imprint..."

"They were a krogan weapon." Grunt stated, leaning forward and letting loose a long breath. "Given just how big our enemies could be, it couldn't hurt to have one...or maybe two."

Paul reflected that Grunt was definitely right on that mark as he left the cargo bay.

* * *

NORMANDY SR-2, DECK 3

EDI's spherical "body" popped out of the nearest alcove as Paul exited the elevator. "Commander, Mr. Moreau would like to inform you that we will reach Bekenstein in approximately 12 standard hours. Based on that estimate, we will arrive at around 5:00 AM in the Milgrom Standard Time Zone."

"Thank you, EDI." Paul wasn't sure exactly where Kasumi's heist was taking place, but he was confident she'd have more details by then.

Garrus was sitting at one of the chairs in the now-vacant mess hall; the normal regulars were elsewhere on the ship at the moment. "Hey, Shepard." He greeted Paul.

"You look much better." Paul pointed out. "But that plate on your face has got to hurt."

Garrus shrugged. "I do the best I can." As Paul moved to join him, Garrus said, "I did run a full diagnostic on the weapons systems, Paul, and this baby packs a nice punch. They definitely upgraded from the SR-1's systems when they built this beauty..." His voice trailed off. "But you saw how well the original weapons turned out." Shepard remembered just how many different kinds of helpless the original Normandy had been when the Collector Ship struck over Alchera... "We still have two sets of missile tubes, but they're not the primary armament. We've got torpedoes and torpedo launchers that can turn a geth destroyer to mush now, and a GARDIAN grid that could hold off a full salvo from Honor Harrington herself." Garrus said, smiling a bit. "But I'm not confident in our ability to wrangle with a Collector ship."

"Neither am I, for that matter." Paul agreed. "If you can think of any upgrades, run them by me. I'd love to see the Normandy pack a punch similar to what that Collector monstrosity threw at us over Alchera."

"A few old friends of mine from the turian military were working on something special around the time I left for Omega." Garrus remembered. "I'll put out a few feelers, but it may take a little while before I hear back, Shepard."

"Get in touch with them, then." Paul pointed out. "But be careful with how much detail you put into your request." The obvious unvoiced part about Cerberus hung in the air.

"Right." Garrus picked that up.

"Have the Cerberus crewmen given you any trouble, Garrus?" Paul asked.

Garrus shook his head at once. "I think being part of the team that took down Saren got me some points. Everyone I talk to is polite, anyway." He looked Paul in the eye and said, "Don't worry, Shepard, we're working together."

"Glad to hear it." Paul smiled, genuinely. "And do let someone know if that should stop happening."

"Oh, I will, Shepard." Garrus smiled himself, his mandibles flaring slightly.

"The reports about the ship's status are good. But how are you holding up, Garrus?" Paul asked.

Garrus looked at the table and sighed. "I was checking over the weapons systems and thinking that we saw just about every weapon in the galaxy in our fight against Saren. Mercenary work on Omega showed me otherwise." He looked back up and Paul and whimsically said, "Now Cerberus builds a new Normandy with a few upgrades to boot. I almost wish we'd joined up with them sooner."

"They certainly weren't looking for our consent on the matter." Paul responded, his voice hard. "They're _generous_ enough to fund our mission. And that's all."

"Just a figure of speech, Paul," Garrus responded in his ever-so-smooth voice, before his expression fell and his eyes dropped to the table again. "And it's not like I could fault your judgment on the matter, certainly not after my own squad got killed."

"How'd you even decide to go to Omega?" Paul inquired, his voice soft.

"I did train to become a Spectre after the Normandy was destroyed, but it didn't work out. Too much politicking at the Citadel; nobody was willing to take risks." Garrus let loose a breath in frustration. "Omega was filled with criminals that no one else would touch, and there was no red tape to slow me down. It was a perfect fit." Garrus reminisced. "People on Omega, the average, common person, needed someone to believe in. And that someone had to stand up to the local gangs."

"That explains how you got started." Paul mused. "But how did you end up with a squad?"

Garrus chuckled. "Not too different from how you formed your squad to fight Saren, actually. You prove that you get things done, and people join up. Mercenaries who wanted to atone, former security consultants who were tired of constantly playing by the rules... I gave them hope." Garrus looked down again, shaking his head. "And now they're dead. Shows what I know."

"What was your team like?" Paul asked, touching the subject delicately.

"I had a team of twelve, including me," Garrus said, pondering his reply, "and my squad ranged from former military operatives and a couple former C-Sec agents to a salarian explosives expert. I'm pretty sure that he'd spent time in the Special Tasks Group. My tech expert was a batarian, believe it or not. Not the friendliest guy, but he could hack any system ever made." Garrus spoke with pride about his team.

Paul nodded and asked, "So...what did your team do, exactly? I'm going to guess you weren't available for hire."

Garrus's voice took a hard tone, "You saw Omega. It was full of thugs kicking the helpless. I formed my team to kick back. We weren't mercenaries. Certainly, no one was paying us. Any money we made came from taking down pirates, slavers, or gangs who went too far."

Paul looked concernedly at Garrus. "Framed that way, your team almost sounds like another gang."

"Then I'm saying it wrong." Garrus thought over what he'd just said and continued, "We never shook any civilians down, and we made damn sure there were no civilian casualties. That was our rule. Just about every member of my team had lost someone to Omega's gangs." Garrus met Paul's eyes directly again. "We weren't out to get rich. We were out to make sure those bastards thought twice before they murdered someone in the street."

Paul nodded as he digested that information. "Sounds like your activities took a toll on the team in the long run."

Garrus couldn't help but to nod himself. "It definitely did, but when you about it, Shepard, I got three separate major merc bands to work together to take me down." He looked up and sighed, "My old manager at C-Sec would be impressed." He leaned forward and explained, "As for irritating the bands, it was easy. We'd disrupt their shipments, intercept their activities, stop their hits on innocents, and just generally get under their skin. Make the gang members angry, and they don't think." Garrus smiled roguishly as he continued, "They'd come charging into our carefully prepared kill zone. Crossfire and snipers; clean and surgical...most of them never had a chance."

Paul couldn't help but hear the dedication in Garrus's voice. He was committed to helping those who were less fortunate than he was, and on Omega, he didn't have anyone to gum up the works with regulations or procedures. _He had to have been in heaven. _

"How did the gangs eventually take down your team?" Paul asked, his voice even more delicate.

Garrus stood up and Paul thought he was going to storm back to the armory, as though he were throwing a temper tantrum. But Garrus probably did that so Paul wouldn't see the absolute anger on his face as he spoke, "That was my own damn fault. One of my people betrayed me." Garrus continued walking down the bay of sleeper pods and Shepard followed him. The turian stopped just short of the doors, just before they could open. "A turian named Lantar Sidonis drew me away, just before the mercs hit my squad in a different location. And everyone else in my team died because of him..." Garrus turned back to Paul and angrily spat out, "And because I didn't see it coming, we took it worse than we should have."

"I'm not sure that I understand." Paul sighed. "What exactly happened?"

Garrus Vakarian directed a murderous glare at the ground. "Sidonis asked for my help on a job in the lower reaches of Omega. But when I got there, Sidonis was nowhere to be seen. By the time I got back to the hideout, the damned mercs had killed all but two of my team...and they didn't last long after I got there."

"I'm sorry." Paul offered. "I shouldn't have to ask, but...are you sure it was a betrayal? They could have taken Sidonis out first."

Garrus shook his head and seemed to be grinding his sharp teeth together as he opened the main battery doors and walked in. Paul stayed close behind as Garrus stated, "No, it _was_ betrayal, Paul. I put out feelers with some old contacts after I came around aboard the Normandy. He booked transport off Omega just before the attack. He also _chose_ to clear out his private accounts just before he left." Garrus looked up at Paul, a humorless smile on his face. "In short, the bastard sold me out and _ran_."

"Do you have any idea where Sidonis is right now, Garrus?" Paul asked, his voice low.

Garrus responded in a similarly low tone himself. "No. His trail vanishes after he left Omega...but I'll keep hunting." Garrus straightened up, a chilling air settling between him and Paul. "I lost my whole team, except for Sidonis. One day, I'll find him...and correct that."

Silence occupied the space between them. "Thanks for...coming by, Shepard." Garrus said after a moment, the tension clear in his voice. "I've got a few things to take care of."

As Paul left Garrus to his work in the Normandy's main battery, he couldn't help but wonder if Kelly's 'hugging' therapy might be exactly what Garrus needed right now. He just hoped that his friend wouldn't clam up right now with so much on the line.


	20. Chapter 20: Bekenstein Prep, Part 2

0200 HOURS GALACTIC STANDARD TIME, 0500 MILGROM STANDARD TIME, AUGUST 4th, 2185  
BOLTZMANN STAR SYSTEM, BEKENSTEIN APPROACH

"Commander Shepard, this is your wakeup call." EDI's voice snapped Paul from his slumber.

"Thank you, EDI." Paul stretched as he rose out of bed. His hours were off from galactic standard, but he couldn't look at that too negatively; he _was_ sleeping again, after all.

EDI continued, "New messages are available at your terminal, Commander. In addition, Operative Lawson has ordered a staff meeting to be held at 0300 Hours. Under your advisement, she named Garrus Vakarian as the Normandy's tactical officer. Doctor Solus would appreciate it if you spoke to him as soon as you can."

"Did she, then..." Paul shook his head about, trying to shake slumber from his eyes and partially succeeding. His stomach growled, reminding him that he also needed to eat. "That's rather fantastic. Tell Mordin I'll speak to him once I'm fully awake." He lazily walked over to his personal terminal, folded the computer into operations mode, and at once saw a message from Hannah Shepard. Bracing himself, he opened it, not sure what to expect...

_ From: Mom_

_ So I had to find out my child is alive _third-hand_ from the Alliance _brass_? Where the hell __**have**__ you been?_

_ I figure whatever you're doing is classified, likely part of your Spectre Operations. Just stay safe out there, and keep doing your mom and dad proud. And sneak something through a secure channel next time._

_ Love,_

_ Your mother, Captain Hannah_

Paul Shepard sighed as he read the message. He hadn't talked to his mother or his father since his reconstruction, and even then, he wasn't sure what to say. By comparison, his message to Liara had practically written itself. Of course, he had to give Liara credit; she'd warned him that his mother was less than pleasantly surprised by the news that her son was not dead, but was gallivanting around the galaxy, and not letting his own mother know that he was even alive in the first place.

And he couldn't blame her. The most he could do for now, with all the surveillance aboard Normandy, was to send her a quick apology and promise of future communication...with the explanation that things were even more complicated than they usually were. She'd understand; a Captain herself and possibly bound for the Admiralty, Hannah Shepard knew just how messy situations could get, and how 'simple issues' could blossom into full-blown disasters in a hurry. She also understood all too well the limitations of operational secrecy and security.

There were several other messages, and the next one was from Daniel, Mordin's assistant on Omega.

_ From: Omega Clinic Desk_

_ Commander, I wanted to thank you again for saving me from those batarians. I thought I'd seen the worst of people's anger and fear at Dr. Solus' clinic. I had no idea how much anger his work was keeping in check, how bad it really was. If not for you, I'd be dead. Thank you._

_ The clinic is doing well. You got rid of the plague, and I've been able to handle the rest without too much trouble. The Blue Suns keep offering to take over security here. I keep the mechs powered on. I won't make the same mistake twice._

_ Thanks,_

_ -Daniel_

Paul Shepard made a note to send Daniel a message when he had time, which would be after Bekenstein. Another message had arrived from Omega, and this time, the name wasn't as familiar.

_ From: Jonn Whitson_

_ Hey, Aria gave me this address. I think I met you at Afterlife on Omega. You stopped me from joining up with those mercs who were trying to take out Archangel._

_ Man, I was pissed off at you. I got blind drunk that night, and it was a few days later before I got it together enough to check the news vids and saw that almost all those mercs had gotten killed by Archangel._

_ I don't know who you are or if you got out of there alive yourself, but thanks. I felt really stupid when I heard about the body count, and how I could have been part of it. I'll make the most with what you did for me._

_ Jonn Whitson_

Paul just shook his head. That was one life he didn't have on his conscience... The last message he read before heading to the shower was addressed from the Citadel.

_ From: Chorban_

_ I hope this address still works. I promised to send you intel on the keepers if I found anything, and this is important. See, those scans you took? It turns out the keepers are bio-engineered...and based on my comparisons to some of that material from Saren's flagship Sovereign, they were engineered millions of years ago...by the same people who made Sovereign!_

_ You may not understand how important this is, but it suggests that the Citadel wasn't really made by the Protheans! It may have been made by something far older, with the keepers as organic guardians. And what's more, based on my genetic readings, they're supposed to react to...something, some signal or something...about every 50 thousand years. You can measure genetic variances; it's a bit like comparing rings on a tree to see the drought years. _

_ Whoever did this...well, around the last time this signal went off would be around the time the Protheans disappeared. And it's scheduled to go off sometime around now. If any old tech still works, they could have some nasty surprises waiting for us. _

_ Just thought you'd want to know. Nobody here on the Citadel will listen to me._

_ -Chorban_

Paul Shepard felt a shiver run down his spine as he finished reading the message. Before heading into the shower, he made a note to encourage Chorban and Jahleed to continue pursuing their work, and submit it to where it would be most received...and be most difficult to ignore.

_Vigil was right._

_ Vigil had always been right._

* * *

0217 HOURS GALACTIC STANDARD TIME

DECK 2, Normandy SR-2

Mordin Solus was examining a batch of samples (at least, Paul assumed they were samples) from Freedom's Progress when Paul Shepard arrived. The salarian turned and smiled as he caught sight of Shepard. "Ah, Commander; just analyzed last batch of samples, results promising thus far..." Mordin cocked his head. "As always, more work needs to be done before I can be certain of effectiveness against actual thing."

There was a distinct _thunk_ as a small Collector organism threw itself against the cage. "Where'd that ugly thing come from?"

"This specimen was from Freedom's Progress," Mordin began, "and derives from species of insect, massively modified with cybernetics; lobotomized, transformed. Earth analogue would be Asian Giant Hornet, but with robotics. Explanation of seeker's origins is much more complex than that, of course, and insidious as well. Clever hands at work in their genetic engineering, clearly."

Paul felt a chill run down his back. "What are you attempting to do with them?"

"Currently working on localized stealth field." Mordin explained. "Seekers are drawn to variety of electromagnetic sources, as well as certain chemical compounds; carbon dioxide, oxygen, and the like. Certain compounds or emissions draw swarms to targets, seekers then disable them. Once deployed, Collector drones work with seekers, but the symbiosis between Collector drones and seeker swarms...less than pleasant." Mordin took a deep breath. "Won't bore you with all the details, but suffice it to say, our adversary eludes conventional understanding. New tactics necessary; point-and-shoot is inadvisable."

Paul nodded. "Is the lab setup working well for you, Doctor Solus?" He inquired.

"Very satisfactory," Mordin nodded. "Must commend Cerberus for an impressive laboratory setup." His eyes closed for a moment. "Missed working for operations with a budget; AI in particular very helpful. Best setup I've seen since work with Special Tasks Group." Mordin praised.

"That has to be a welcome change from the clinic," Paul mused aloud. "It must have been frustrating working with such limited facilities..."

Mordin shook his head. "Quite the contrary, Shepard, loved it! Limited facilities on Omega presented challenges all their own. Save greatest number of people using limited resources. Security threats, gangs, mercenary groups add additional difficulty. Quite enjoyable. Plague stretched abilities to limit. Couldn't have asked for more." He smiled a bit, and hastily added, "Also enjoyed saving people, of course; helping the helpless, greater good. Excellent use of retirement years after STG work completed."

"Any little problems floating around?" Paul inquired, gently.

Mordin shook his head firmly, the metal frame around his neck wobbling a bit. "Nothing too substantial. Found some surveillance bugs; disabled most, destroyed others. Returned expensive bug to Miranda." Mordin added with a sly smile, "She was most appreciative."

Paul stifled his laughter. "I'm guessing that she probably was happy to have it back, Mordin, but a little surprised that you found it at all."

Mordin nodded matter-of-factly. "Must admit, the use of a miniature tactical cloak on that model was ingenious, but clear giveaways exist for such technology...for all technology. STG has better modules..." He held a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "But still, worth looking into for thwarting seeker swarms; might ask Miranda for bug back, in that case."

Shepard laughed. "True enough. Are there any medical concerns I should be aware of among the crew?"

Mordin chuckled. "Officer Lawson prescribed with two weeks' light duty by Doctor Chakwas. Doctor's orders included to stay away from sniper rifles for a while, at that. Garrus's injuries...more worrisome, for obvious reasons; not everyone jumps into missiles. Multiple fractures to facial regions and severely damaged collarbone suffered; major damage has been repaired, and the compounds that Chakwas used have set particularly well. Do try to keep him from any additional missile fire." Mordin offered severely. "As for the crew: most are in good health. Lieutenant Moreau's condition obvious, but workarounds exist." He tapped in a set of commands on a console, then was rewarded by a series of sounds somewhat like a 'beet-deet-zzzt'. "In fact, think I've cured Joker's condition. Simple treatment would..." A much more pessimistic blatting noise caused Mordin to frown disapprovingly. "No, no, no. Would cause terminal liver failure. Never mind; start from scratch."

"You had the best of intentions." Paul soothed. "He's adapted to his own condition."

Mordin shrugged. "Perhaps so. Still need work whenever sample diagnostics are in progress."

"EDI's helping with that too, I'm guessing?" Shepard inquired.

"Indeed." Mordin frowned as he picked up a datapad, then his expression changed to a near-smile. "Additional ideas for omni-tool mods; picked up these specifications at Garrus's base." Mordin leaned forward on the console and explained, "Standard omni-tools usually come calibrated with a wide neural input tolerance range, in order to be used by almost any species. Tuning the inputs of the omni-tool to match the user's neural patterns increases the responsiveness and power of omni-tool attacks." Mordin finished, "Once manipulated in such a fashion, the omni-tool is unusable to all but the wearer. Constant recalibration becomes necessary, in order for the tool to adequately accommodate subtle neural shifts."

Paul took that information in and nodded. "Could you do this for the whole team?"

"Of course, Commander." Mordin stated confidently. "Would recommend a look at Ms. Goto's omni-tool; you are going with her on a mission and she would appreciate the ability to do more damage, yes?"

Paul responded in the affirmative. "I assume that she would. I'll tell her to head up here." His mind drifted back to the message he'd received from Daniel. "Your assistant seems to be settling in pretty well at the clinic. I received a message from him."

"Excellent." Mordin said with a smile coming across his lips. "Neighborhood secure, so far, so good with clinic, then. Left him the security mechs, just in case." Mordin's lips pursed together and he looked at the next diagnostic in front of him. "Can never be too careful; also, tired of mechs. Too noisy; never used them in STG."

Paul decided to brush on that topic. "What kind of work did you do in the Special Tasks Group?" When Mordin looked up, Paul clarified, "I should clarify: what are you authorized to talk about?"

Mordin considered that and nodded. "STG work ranged from reconnaissance, statistical analysis and projection, to occasional wetwork. Identify problems, develop neutralization options should the need ever arise." Mordin chuckled. "Model for Council Spectres based on Special Tasks Group. Very similar..."

Paul folded his arms together and nodded. "I've heard about that. Spectres answer to the Council, but have an incredible range of latitude and responsibility. But the STG answers to the Salarian Union, and doesn't enjoy the same operational freedom. It's sensible for that, though; the STG is the Salarian Union's best line of defense."

"True, true." Mordin agreed. "Salarians lack numbers, brute strength, and conventional military prowess. Intelligence and stealth are thus pivotal to effective defense. STG agents may not have as much operational freedoms as Council Spectres, but definitely have greater field importance." Mordin laughed a bit. "STG better funded, of course. Didn't have to buy our own weapons."

Shepard burst out laughing at once. That had always been an issue with the Council _and_ the Alliance. If he wanted better armor for the field, it had to come out of his own pocket. "There's a maxim about truer words..." He cracked. "Your emphasis was research, I assume."

"Not simply research." Mordin cautioned Paul. "Several reconnaissance missions; all covert, high-risk. Served under young captain named Kirrahe. Studied krogan genophage in particular. Took water and tissue samples from krogan colonies or former krogan worlds."

Shepard remembered that name. "That definitely rings a bell. I worked with an STG captain named Kirrahe two years ago. His team helped me to destroy Saren's 'cure' for the genophage on Virmire." He remembered that as well. "We dropped his team off at the Citadel. Then we got impounded by the Council..."

"And the rest is history." Mordin continued, smiling. "But Virmire! Heard he was part of that. Jury-rigged explosive..." Mordin seemed impressed. "Always got the job done with limited resources at his command; good captain. Bit of a cloaca, though." He added. "Loved his speeches: 'hold the line'!" Paul laughed again at seeing Mordin imitate Kirrahe. "Personally, prefer to get job done and go home. Probably military bravado; jargon, chest-pounding..." Looking at Shepard, Mordin added quickly, "No offense."

"None taken." Shepard stated. He thought of what Mordin had said. "Why would the STG study the genophage?"

Mordin looked out the window for a moment, contemplating the stars beyond. "Krogan Rebellions were bloody, dangerous. Almost as horrific as Rachni Wars..." Mordin turned back to Shepard, "All species adapt, evolve for their circumstances. If genophage hold on krogan population weakened, STG needed to be prepared for consequences."

Paul nodded, "It sounds like you were involved in a great deal more than simple analytical research, then, Professor."

"Military component entirely necessary for operations," Mordin stated, "former krogan colonies not stable. Neither is Tuchanka, but things are changing..." He waved a hand. "Team analyzed military schematics for likely krogan population growth, political scenarios for weak points. Genophage reduced Krogan numbers, but Rebellions were far more deleterious in the long run. Genophage ensured that massive Krogan casualties taken during Rebellions could not be replaced." Mordin shrugged again. "Krogan birthrate restored to previous levels. Given current galactic climate, Krogan population explosion would be disastrous for entire galaxy. STG helped to check the Krogan Rebellions, and needed to be ready to do the same should the need arise." Mordin shrugged. "Beyond that, simple recon. Nothing much to worry about."

Paul thought to himself, _Mordin wouldn't be on this team if his work was simple. Something's up. If he opens up about it at all, it'll be later._ He chose a different tack. "I've heard many explanations about the genophage. What does it actually do?"

Before Mordin could answer, Doctor Chakwas arrived from the CIC. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Commander." Paul and Mordin both indicated in the negative. "There's been an emergency message from a colony in the Terminus Systems." Chakwas said quietly. "Have you ever heard of Ferris Fields, Shepard?"

"I can't say that I have, Doctor." Paul answered honestly.

"It's been hit by the Collectors." Chakwas stated simply, devastatingly, after a moment. "No word yet on casualties, but that news just hit the extranet."

Paul swore audibly. "Damn it." He sighed again. "Thank you for letting me know, Doctor."

"Of course, Commander." Chakwas looked down and then left the room.

Paul gave Mordin a quick glance. "How soon can you have a working countermeasure against the seeker swarms, Mordin?"

Mordin consulted the data at his console and answered, "Sixteen hours, at least. Possibly more."

Paul nodded; as much as he wanted to fight the Collectors, neither his team nor his ship was truly ready for an encounter with them just yet. He looked out the window at the stars beyond as he said, "I won't put any additional pressure on you, Doctor, but..." Paul's voice trailed off.

Mordin smoothly picked up on Paul's tone. "Given unfortunate news from Ferris Fields, work on thwarting swarms is imperative. Can't risk team falling to swarms, of course."

"Thank you, Doctor." Paul responded. "If you need anything, be sure to let Miranda or EDI know."

"Will do." Mordin smiled grimly and then went back to the seeker swarm sample, focusing more intently on it. Paul consulted the closest shipboard chrono and sighed. Miranda's staff meeting would be soon, and he needed to break the news about Ferris Fields to his ship and crew. They wouldn't lack for motivation; that much was for certain.

* * *

0300 HOURS, AUGUST 4th, 2185

DECK 2, SR-2 CONFERENCE ROOM

Miranda Lawson was pleasantly surprised to see Paul Shepard standing in the conference room well in advance of the staff meeting, but his expression was concerned, tight.

"Ferris Fields got hit by the Collectors. Almost everyone's gone." Paul explained without preamble as Miranda entered the room.

She suppressed the expletives instinctively; she hadn't gotten this far by naked displays of raw emotion. She chose to avoid a trite statement such as 'that's sad' or 'how unfortunate'. She sighed instead and asked, "What can we do to help?"

"Not much. We'd have to postpone our trip to Bekenstein and it's at least two days to Ferris Fields. It's unfortunate that it's not near a mass relay." Paul answered with a tight headshake. "The Alliance arrived on the scene, but they weren't nearly fast enough to stop the Collectors. The news hit the extranet; heck, Emily Wong's got a special on it..." He sighed and gave a wistful smile. "But at least the Alliance is reacting more quickly."

Miranda nodded. "True enough, Commander. And it will make it more difficult, if not impossible, for them to deny the truth."

Engineers Donnelly and Daniels arrived in the room almost in lockstep; Miranda had made them joint department heads as the SR-2 didn't have a chief engineer. Whatever witty banter they were engaging in stopped as soon as they saw Miranda, however, and they saluted almost in unison. Jacob entered the room as well and saluted, taking a position near Miranda.

"Anyone else we're waiting to hear from?" Paul asked Miranda.

She nodded. "Just Garrus and Doctor Chakwas, Commander." Paul checked those two off in his mind; they represented the Normandy's tactical and medical department, respectively. "EDI, where are they?" Miranda asked.

"Both Officer Vakarian and Doctor Chakwas have just stepped off the elevator, Miss Lawson."

"Good." Paul said quietly. They could get to business soon.

Not even a few seconds later, Chakwas and a grim-faced Garrus entered the conference room. "With all department heads in attendance, we'll start at once." Miranda said without preamble. "I know that Doctor Chakwas is aware of this, as well as Commander Shepard, but the rest of you might not be. The Collectors hit the Ferris Fields colony at some point last night." Miranda delivered the news devastatingly. "Almost the entire colony is gone."

Donnelly swore. "Shit. We're going to make those dirty buggers pay!"

"Engineer Donnelly?" Miranda asked with a raised eyebrow, cutting him off.

"Sorry, Miss Lawson." He apologized.

"Apology accepted." Miranda knew Donnelly's tendencies inside and out; she knew just about everyone on the SR-2's crew... "Be that as it may, the Alliance is acting. Medical and relief vessels arrived this morning to assist the survivors."

Garrus nodded. "At least they found survivors this time..."

Paul sighed and agreed, "That means the Collectors might be getting more careless. Or they've removed all the easy pickings from the board, and the more reinforced, built-up colonies are all they've got left to hit."

Miranda cautioned, "The Collectors haven't gotten the reputation they have by being sloppy, Commander. The second explanation is most logical."

She could see that Shepard really didn't want to agree with her on that first point, but she read resignation in his eyes. "We knew this might happen." Paul said quietly. "That doesn't make it any easier. We don't have the ability to hound the Collectors across the galaxy until our armaments and defenses are upgraded."

Jacob spoke up. "I might have a lead on how we strengthen the Normandy's defenses, sir."

Miranda looked to him and Paul nodded. "What's the lead, Mr. Taylor?"

Miranda noted Paul's avoidance of the term 'operative' as Jacob answered, "Alliance R&D was in discussions to acquire certain schematics from the Asari military a while back. The Asari came up with 'Silaris' Armor fairly recently, and after losing eight cruisers and two dreadnoughts at the Citadel, the Alliance wanted any edge they could get."

"To make sure that doesn't happen again..." Miranda nodded. "What would it take?"

Jacob looked to her. "The schematics are classified, but I could tap into my old contacts in R&D. Once we have the schematics for the armor, I'd run them by Dr. Solus to be certain if we could implement the Silaris tech." He held up a PDA. "The specialists in R&D thought pretty highly of the fighters the Asari gave the Alliance with the armor, though, and it can absorb an incredible amount of punishment."

Shepard thought back to the Normandy's destruction. "The Collectors threw everything and the kitchen sink at the SR-1 over Alchera. And it didn't last very long."

Garrus nodded his agreement. "Any upgrade over our existing armor will help when we do get to fight the Collectors."

Miranda decided then. "Mr. Taylor, I'm authorizing you to get those schematics. Once you have them, Mordin and I will get them in place." She looked to Paul and saw his approving nod.

The rest of the meeting went fairly quickly. The engineers reported that the SR-2's engines were remarkably efficient and that everything seemed to be in full working order. Jacob reported that the tech they'd picked up from the Citadel, Omega, and Korlus was now in effect on all of their weapons. Miranda noted Jacob's crestfallen expression as he'd explained to Garrus that his Punisher-9 from Omega couldn't be salvaged.

Eventually all the reports were in and the department heads dismissed. Paul, Miranda, and Garrus remained. "That went better than expected." Paul mused aloud.

Miranda nodded. "What's the plan when we get to Bekenstein?"

"It's a work in progress." Paul admitted, "I don't know all the details myself, but Kasumi's got a good grasp on the situation." He explained, "Kasumi needs a piece of hardware back, and it's under heavy security in a gun runner's mansion. The man's throwing a society party today, and he killed an old friend of hers in order to get that hardware. It's extremely important to Kasumi...and one of the reasons that Cerberus came to her in the first place."

Miranda took everything in and understood. If they pulled this off, Kasumi would be fully focused on their mission. "Will you need backup, Shepard?" she asked; she wanted to cover every conceivable angle.

"I think we should be fine." Paul stated simply, but then considered the details Kasumi had shown him earlier. "The host of the party has hired some heavy security, though, and we almost certainly will need shuttle extraction."

"So you can't just stroll out of there with the hardware in hand?" Garrus asked. "How disappointing..."

Paul's lips drew into a smile. "It's not going to be that simple, unfortunately. Hock hired a small legion of Eclipse troopers for security. Clearly, he doesn't trust his guests."

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Miranda murmured, and then added, "I'll make sure the shuttle's less than a minute out from you."

"Thanks, Miranda." Paul stated genuinely. "Once this is done, we're off to the Hourglass Nebula."

Miranda nodded again, and Paul left the room, followed by Garrus moments later. As Miranda made her way to the elevator to head to her office, she reflected that things were running smoothly on the mission, especially with Garrus's recovery. While she reflected that she was injured, she wasn't out of the picture for good, and Paul was keeping things moving along. Four of their five specialists had been recruited, and Dr. Solus was coming up with a countermeasure for the seeker swarms.

Miranda Lawson mused that, as far as Cerberus operations went, this was perhaps the best she'd been a part of.

* * *

0341 HOURS GALACTIC STANDARD TIME, 0641 HOURS MILGROM STANDARD TIME

Paul Shepard nodded as he looked over his own reflection in his quarters. It was a dark gray suitcoat with silver buttons, and it bore a resemblance to the formal clothing he'd seen admirals wear at special events. It wasn't overly flashy, yet it could conceal a small hold-out SMG. Kasumi had explained that the guards wouldn't hassle him over a sidearm; if anything, half the guests at the party would have some form of covert arms. "This is distinguished, yet not overwhelmingly gaudy..." He looked to Kasumi. "This getup will get me in, and it won't get too many questions from the guests."

"You _do_ clean up well, Mr. Solomon Gunn." Kasumi smiled from where she sat on the couch. "Hock won't know what hit him."

"Solomon Gunn is my cover, yes?" Shepard cleared his throat.

Kasumi nodded reflexively. "Indeed. You run a small, but exceptionally talented, band of mercenaries in the Terminus Systems. That's precisely the type of person that Hock respects. I took the liberty of giving you a good reputation as well..." Paul's eyebrows rose, and his questioning expression prompted Kasumi to continue, "Papers, witnesses, even an article in _Badass Weekly_. Just don't start talking too much business, and we should be fine."

Paul chuckled. "You've mentioned that Hock can be a bit of a character. What kind of man is he? The strong, silent murdering type? I hear those are great with kids."

Kasumi's expression fell. "He's an amicable enough person, for a weapons dealer and a gun runner. He's moderately witty, extravagantly wealthy, and somewhat charismatic...and perfectly willing to crack open a man's skull to get at the neural implants inside." Her voice took on a hard edge as she finished.

"This is probably a good time to iron out the last few details." Paul stated as he rolled his shoulders, testing how much he could move around in comfort. To his surprise, the suit didn't cramp up in other areas as he did so.

"You have been waiting patiently." Kasumi smiled demurely and handed him her personal datapad.

After a few seconds, the encryption on the pad shifted, causing the screen to blur momentarily. He nodded as he consulted the schematics; they were a landlord's plot of the mansion's outlying areas, and an overhead satellite image that had somehow gotten through the mansion's security fields. There was a landing pad that they could land the Kodiak in easily enough. "Want to give me the rundown of the party itself?" He asked Kasumi.

Kasumi nodded. "Our man Hock is throwing a society party for his closest friends. That's a couple dozen of the worst liars, cheaters, mass murderers, and con artists you'll ever want to meet, all of them bringing gifts as a tribute to the man himself. Our tribute...is a lovely statue of your old friend Saren, stocked to the brim with our weapons, equipment, and armor." She gave Paul a quick glance. "Looks like you found a good place for that Shuriken." He shrugged, and Kasumi continued, "Once we're inside, we'll make our way to Hock's vault door, somewhere in the back of the ballroom. Then we case the security and start peeling away the layers. The statue should be there, waiting for you to crack it open and arm up." She finished, "Then we just waltz into the vault and take back Keiji's graybox."

"This is very solid work. Keiji must have meant a lot to you..." Paul's voice trailed off.

"Was I that obvious?" Kasumi responded dryly, but there was definitely a wistful lilt in her voice. "Keiji's graybox holds some priceless, personal memories. It's all that remains of the man he was. But the secret he discovered is dangerous. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have asked for your help."

If this secret could somehow land the Alliance in an interstellar war, it was better to be certain that Hock never cracked it. "Well, Ms. Goto, I believe Mordin should be finished with your omni-tool now..." Paul smiled roguishly.

Kasumi made a face. "_Please_ don't call me that during the mission. It's just Kasumi."

Paul nodded and his expression fell. "Of course, Kasumi. And don't worry. We'll handle this."

* * *

The Kodiak raced away from the Normandy SR-2's docking bay, and Paul wasn't quite sure what to feel. Confidence about the mission? Apprehension about his meeting with Liara? He settled on confidence. He'd find out soon enough where he and Liara stood.


End file.
